By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-12 20:58:20 | Updated at 2025-03-14 07:54:48
1 day ago
A judge who admitted he shot his wife to death at their California home said they had been 'bickering like Lucy and Desi' - a bizarre excuse he offered after he escaped a conviction due to a mistrial.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson compared his own marriage to the iconic husband and wife duo Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz from the 1950s TV show 'I Love Lucy' in an interview with Inside Edition.
On the show, the real-life married couple was constantly squabbling and name-calling, though it was understood that teasing each other was part of how they showed affection.
'I wasn't angry at her. I loved her,' the 74-year-old jurist said while crying. 'We were just bickering like Lucy and Desi. I didn't murder her. I never would do that.'
On August 3, 2023, Ferguson shot his wife Sheryl while they were watching 'Breaking Bad' with their adult son Phillip at their home in Anaheim Hills.
Ferguson now says he killed his wife of 27 years accidently, but those convinced of his guilt have seized on a statement he made that was practically gift-wrapped for the prosecution.
'I killed her. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, convict my a**. I did it,' he said while in police lockup immediately after his arrest.
Additionally, he called 911 and when the dispatcher asked him what happened, he simply responded: 'I don't want to talk about it right now.'
His son also called police. Clearly distraught, he could be heard repeatedly asking his mother to shake her head if she could hear him.
Jeffrey Ferguson, a judge in California's Orange County, gave a tearful interview to Inside Edition days after his sensational murder case ended in a mistrial
In that interview, he said he was bickering with his wife like Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the husband and wife duo who starred in the 1950s sitcom 'I Love Lucy'
Ferguson is accused of gunning down his wife of 27 years, Sheryl (pictured together), during a drunken argument on August 3, 2023
Ferguson also 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 court filings.
Despite his incriminating statement and other evidence put forward by the prosecution, his trial ended Monday with a hung jury.
The 12-person jury deliberated for more than 40 hours over nine days - longer than the trial itself - after which a single holdout would not agree to convict on second-degree murder.
Todd Spitzer, the county district attorney, pursued the case against Ferguson, who to this day is drawing his $220,000 salary as an elected judge, The Orange County Register reported.
Spitzer vowed to secure a retrial, which the judge presiding over Ferguson's case hopes to get started with by April or May.
Prosecutors argued during the week-long trial in February that Ferguson intentionally shot his wife with the Glock .40-caliber pistol he pulled from his ankle holster.
Ferguson - who has admitted to being an alcoholic and drinking during work hours - admitted that he was drunk at the time of the shooting.
Prosecutors said that hours before, the two had been arguing about finances while drinking to excess at a restaurant.
The shooting happened at Ferguson's home (pictured the day after Sheryl died) in Anaheim Hills
This crime scene photo shows Sheryl lying dead on the floor next to a fireplace with blood running down her face
Pictured: Ferguson is crying during the opening statements of his murder trial on February 19, 2025
'He lost his temper. He shot his wife. It's that simple,' prosecutor Seton Hunt said in court.
Ferguson testified that he intended to place the gun on a table but accidentally fired the fatal shot due to a shoulder injury that caused him to fumble the weapon.
'Sheryl's loss is an intense situation for me and I wanted to get up there and tell the truth and tell them what happened,' Ferguson said of his decision to take the stand.
He also explained that his admission to the crime while in custody was a function of the extreme stress he was under at the time.
'These thoughts are tumbling out of you,' he said. 'You are trying to comprehend it yourself. I was trying to process what happened.'
When asked what it was like to be in the defendant's seat in the very courtroom he had tried countless cases in, Ferguson said it was 'frightening' and 'hard for me to believe.'
Ferguson remains free on $2 million bail, an amount that was increased back in September when a judge determined he lied about consuming alcohol while awaiting trial.
He became a judge in 2015, and even though he is still making his salary, he isn't on the bench because California's constitution bans people facing felonies from presiding over cases.
