Jury convicts a California judge of second-degree murder in his wife’s
shooting death
[April 23, 2025]
By AMY TAXIN and JAIMIE DING
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jurors convicted a Southern California judge of
second-degree murder on Tuesday for fatally shooting his wife while the
couple argued and watched television at home.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was on trial
for the 2023 death of his wife Sheryl, 65, in their Anaheim Hills home.
Ferguson took the stand in his own defense, admitting to shooting his
wife but saying it was an accident.
Jurors reached their decision Tuesday afternoon, a day after
deliberations began. After the verdict was read in court, Ferguson was
given a moment to hug his son before he was handcuffed and taken into
custody. He was also found guilty of a felony gun enhancement and faces
a maximum prison term of 40 years to life when he is sentenced June 13.
Ferguson's attorney Cameron Talley said the defense plans to appeal.
“I respect the jury's verdict,” Talley said. “At the same time, we all
know that juries don't always get it right ... I still believe in Jeff.”
The verdict comes after a previous jury deadlocked in March and Los
Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter declared a mistrial.
Hunter has overseen the case to avoid a conflict of interest with the
Superior Court in Orange County, where Ferguson presided over criminal
cases until the shooting.
The case had roiled the legal community in the county, which is home to
3 million people between Los Angeles and San Diego. Many have known or
worked with Ferguson for decades, including Orange County District
Attorney Todd Spitzer.
“There are no winners here," Spitzer said during a news conference after
the verdict. “Justice was achieved, but I’m very sad for the Ferguson
family.”
Prosecutors said Ferguson had been drinking before he made a gun-like
hand gesture toward his wife of 27 years during an argument about family
finances they had during dinner at a Mexican restaurant on Aug. 3, 2023.
Prosecutors said the argument continued at home while the couple was
watching “Breaking Bad” on TV with their adult son, and Sheryl Ferguson
chided her husband to point a real gun at her. He did, then pulled the
trigger, prosecutors said.
Ferguson testified that he was removing the gun from his ankle holster
to place it on a table, and fumbled it, and it discharged.
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Orange County Superior Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, left, who was found
guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife
Sheryl Ferguson in 2023, embraces his son, Phillip Ferguson, before
being led away in handcuffs on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Santa
Ana, Calif. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool)
Immediately after the shooting, Ferguson and his son both called
911, and Ferguson texted his court clerk and bailiff saying, “I just
lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in
custody. I’m so sorry,” according to a copy of a text message shown
to jurors. His son Phillip testified to tackling his father to
wrestle the gun away after the shooting and performing CPR on his
mother.
Ferguson spoke with police outside his home and again once he was in
custody, and was seen on video sobbing and saying his son and
everyone would hate him. In the video, he said he killed his wife
and pleaded for a jury to convict him.
Authorities said they found 47 weapons, including the gun used in
the shooting, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition at the home,
and said Ferguson had ample experience and training in firearms.
“This was not an accident. Ferguson was trained to never point a gun
at anything he didn’t intend to destroy," Spitzer said in a
statement about the verdict.
Ferguson was a long-time prosecutor who became a judge in 2015. He
began his legal career in the district attorney’s office in 1983 and
went on to work on narcotics cases, winning various awards.
Ferguson had been out on $2 million bail but was not presiding in
court as the state constitution bars a judge facing a felony charge
from hearing cases.
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