Minutes after the murder of his wife, prosecutors say that a California judge shot off a quick out of office message to his court clerk and bailiff: “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.”
At that point, Jeffrey Ferguson allegedly took out a loaded .40-caliber pistol from his ankle holster and shot Sheryl Ferguson “at close range” through “the center chest,” according to court records.
Sheryl Ferguson Facebook
The judge called 911 soon after “to report (vaguely) that his wife had been shot,” according to the court records. The 911 operator asked if he had shot his wife, to which the judge responded: “that he did not want to talk about it now.”
Sheryl Ferguson.Sheryl Ferguson Facebook
Jeffrey Ferguson’s Glock .40-caliber pistol, allegedly used in the shooting, was recovered, along with a single spent .40-caliber casing near the couch, where his son claimed his father had pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced her chest, shooting through “her mid back and careened into a wall behind her,” according to court records.
Jeffrey Ferguson had been an Orange County Superior Court judge since 2015, and his termis slated to run through January, 2027. The Judicial Council of California and its bodies are ultimately responsible for considering issues of misconduct, Kostas Kalaitzidis, a spokesperson for the Orange County Superior Court, told PEOPLE. Therefore, the judge remainslisted on the court website, which was last updated on the day of the murder.
“This is a tragedy that we have not gone through before,” Kalaitzidis said, adding that all cases had been removed from his calendar.
The Orange County Superior Court gave the murder case to Los Angeles County Superior Court to avoid any ethical conflict of interest, Kalaitzidis said and the L.A. court now presides over the case.
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Prior to being elected as judge, Jeffrey Ferguson was the Deputy Orange County District Attorney. He began working as a prosecutor for the office in 1983, the district attorney’s officesaid in a press release.
The Orange County District Attorney’s office “immediately contacted the Attorney General for a conflict check,” Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the office, told PEOPLE: “and they decided we did not have a conflict and we could prosecute the case.”
Jeffrey Ferguson in a book photograph, August 2023.Anaheim Police Department via AP
Anaheim Police Department via AP
Jeffrey Ferguson was still wearing his ankle holster – which was empty – when patrol officers arrived. He was allegedly slurring his words and smelled of alcohol, and according to the court records, he asked the officers to shoot him. “Well, I guess I’m done for a while,” he said, according to a transcribed portion of body cam footage, which also recorded exclamations including: “Oh, my God … my son … my son,” and: “Oh, man, I can’t believe I did this.”
Although the judge’s son did not recall domestic violence between his parents, he told investigators that his father’s temper flared with drinking. The son also recalled several alleged incidents involving his father and guns in the home, the records state.
He alleged that a few years earlier, his mother told him that she had seen Jeffrey Ferguson with a gun to his head and that she had talked him out of suicide, according to the records. Another time, alone in the bathroom, Jeffrey Ferguson allegedly shot a firearm in what his son understood to be an accidental discharge.
The judge, who has no prior criminal record, is charged with three felonies: murder, the discharge of a firearm causing death and personally using a firearm, according toonline court information.
Investigators covered the Ferguson’s neighborhood in crime tape, following the Aug. 3 murder.Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
Jeffrey Ferguson was released from jail the day after his arrest when he posted a $1 million bond. Prosecutors asked the court to move up his scheduled arraignment from Sept. 1 to Aug. 15 so they can add additional conditions to his bail. Noting that the location of a firearm he allegedly owns is “currently unknown,” prosecutors plan to ask the court that he not be allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.
If convicted of all criminal counts, Jeffrey Ferguson, 72, faces 40 years to life in prison, the district attorney’s office said in a press statement. Prosecutors say a murder conviction would ensure he would not be up for parole until he is at least 82.
source: people.com
