The jury in the murder trial of Orange County judge Jeffrey Ferguson went home Friday on Day 8 of deliberations without reaching a decision.
Deliberations began Feb. 26 in the trial of Ferguson, 74, who is charged with murder with sentencing enhancements for discharge of a gun causing death and the personal use of a gun for the Aug. 3, 2023, death of his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl.
Jurors can convict Ferguson of second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter, if they do not acquit him, the shooting at the couple’s Anaheim Hills home.
On Friday, the jury passed a note to the judge asking to go home early and return Monday in what has been more than a week of frustration and exhaustion. Deliberations have now lasted longer than trial testimony.
“It’s very odd for a jury to have such struggles and, yet, hold out hope,” said NBC4 legal analyst Royal Oakes. “The judge in a bit of a pickle, if the judge urges them too hard to reach a unanimous verdict. Then, if they convict him upon an appeal, the defense says ‘Well, the judge pressured them.’ But, then again, she doesn’t want to just quit.”
Sheryl Ferguson’s brother Larry Rosen has been there for all of it.
“She was the glue of the family,” Rosen said Friday. “The thing about my sister that my brothers miss the most was the phone calls. We used to call each other all the time.”
Rosen said that for year and a half before the trial, he made sure not to contact Ferguson. He said he wanted to enter the trial phase with a neutral view of his brother in law.
After telling the judge they were at an impasse, jurors continued to deliberate on the verdict of a former Orange County judge accused of killing his wife. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
“I came here, sat here for the entire trial, listened to all the evidence,” Rosen said. “The evidence didn’t support in my mind murder at all.”
Rosen said he believes the defense argument that, on the night of Aug. 3, 2023, Ferguson shot and killed Sheryl in an accidental shooting.
“I know Jeff, and he’s a great guy,” Rosen said.
Rosen said he’s frustrated that the judge has not declared a mistrial, even after the jury twice said they were at an impasse on the second-degree murder charge.
“This is supposed to be the lady with the blindfold and scales,” Rosen said. “It’s not suppose to be the outcome is influenced by the conduct or instruction of the judge.”
Judge Eleanor Hunter said Thursday that if it’s clear the juror has no path to a unanimous decision, she will declare a mistrial. The jury foreman said there was “movement,” so deliberations continued.
During closing arguments, attorneys for the prosecution tried to convince jurors that Ferguson was upset following a dispute with his wife at a restaurant. When they two were back home, Ferguson took out his gun and killed his wife in a tragic chain of events that warrant a murder conviction, prosecutors said.
“You have been presented with evidence — credible evidence — he took out the gun, he was angry,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt told jurors Wednesday. “He took the gun out, pointed at her and killed her.”
Defense attorneys argued the shooting was accidental.
“No, absolutely not. It was an accident,” Ferguson said when asked by defense attorney Cameron Talley whether he meant to shoot his wife.
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