His wife ended on Monday’s Mistral after being charged with murder for fatally shooting a judge in Orange County. Jeffrey Ferguson, the man at the heart of the Lugan Battle, spoke only to NBC Los Angeles on Thursday.
NBCLA’s Hetty Chang was the only reporter to sit with Ferguson at his Anaheim Hills home, where he shot and killed his wife.
The first thing Ferguston did was show the NBCLA crew the family room he sat in when he and his wife Sheryl told her that they accidentally left the gun and killed her.
Ferguson said he was relieved and disappointed at the same time that the ju judge failed to reach the unanimous verdict.
“In the count – 11 to 1. It was like a blow to my emotions, but I have no other options.
The man facing a retrial said it was like “in an episode of Twilight Zone” sitting in court where he was charged with his wife’s murder.
“It seems you’re being taken away from reality and you’re being pushed down without warning to a completely different world, a world that’s not particularly friendly to you,” Ferguson said. “After doing what I’ve done for 40 years in the criminal justice system, being in that chair can be confusing and difficult to be in trouble.”
In response to critics who think the murder is intentional, Ferguson has repeatedly claimed it was an accident, and has repeated it over and over again.
“I lost her, so I’ve not run away at all, and she’s lost her life,” he said sob.
An interview with the NBCLA followed a misconception declared Monday at the murder trial of 74-year-old Ferguson. He faced murder charges on August 3, 2023, for shooting and killing his 65-year-old wife, Cheryl, at his couple’s Anaheim Hills home.
The ju umpire, who convicted Ferguson of second-degree murder or unwilling manslaughter, split the 11-1 in favor of a second-degree murder conviction shortly after resuming deliberations Monday morning. The deliberations began on February 26th.
As deliberations extended to a new week, the ju apprentices showed they were at a dead end, but continued their efforts to reach a decision. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter said Thursday afternoon as a ju umpire and a ju umpire to see how many votes they cast, and the prequel said several.
The Hunter asked them to go back to deliberation and discuss it.
The ju judge left early Friday and told the judge he oversaw the case that he was “exhausted.”
“Justice falls in the hands of 12 strangers who are taken from everyday life, weighing the evidence and given the immeasurable responsibility to determine guilt and innocence,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “We are disappointed with the outcome, but we will review the questions presented by the ju apprentice in order to determine with the facts in order to make a decision in the coming weeks regarding this case.
The ju judge cannot reach the verdict at Jeffrey Ferguson’s trial. Hetty Chang is reporting NBC4 News’ report on Monday, March 10th, 2025 at 3pm.
A hearing sets a new trial date is scheduled for Thursday.
“The hanging ju umpire is not a failure,” defense attorney Cameron Tully said outside court. “The hanging ju umpire is part of the process, and it has succeeded in its own way.
“The surprise was that the ju umpire had been there for so long. We never put a ju umpire over the weekend. But I think it’s proof of how hard this ju umpire worked.”
During the final discussion, the prosecutor’s lawyers tried to convince the ju judge that Ferguson was upset after a dispute with his wife at the restaurant. When the two returned home, Ferguson pulled out a gun and killed his wife in a tragic series of events that guaranteed a murder conviction, prosecutors said.
“You’re being presented with evidence – reliable evidence – he took out the gun, he was mad,” Seton Hunt told ju referees Wednesday. “He took out the gun and pointed at her to kill her.”
The defense attorney argued that the shooting was a coincidence.
“No, not at all. It was an accident,” Ferguson said when Talley asked if he was planning to shoot his wife.
Ferguson and his son Philip went to the El Choro Mexican restaurant earlier that day, but Sheryl Ferguson left after her husband mimicked a hand gesture during the discussion. Later at home, Philip Ferguson said his mother said, “Would you like to point a real gun at me?”
Calling it the most reliable explanation of the shooting, Hunt later performed a video of his son who told police, “I’ll turn around and pull out the gun and aim her and set the fire.”
Hunt called for the judge’s account – he groped with a glock pulled from the ankle holster and accidentally discharged from the hospital as he tried to put it on a messy coffee table – “Silly.”
Philip Ferguson said his mother’s last words were “he shot me.”
Hunt suggested that Ferguson could go upstairs and put away the gun.
“I might have done a lot,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson’s blood alcohol concentration was .065% when measured seven hours after the shooting, Hunt said. Experts testified that it is likely about .17% of driving at the time of shooting, or nearly twice the legal limit for driving, Hunt noted.
At a press conference after the court case, Spitzer said he plans to consider some of Ferguson’s cases. Ferguson, who has been on trial for nine years by an Orange County judge, testified that he may have had several drinks at lunchtime and may be drunk during the hearing.
Tully challenged the prosecutor’s debate, stating it was due to misunderstandings about how guns work. Talley pointed out how Hunt mentioned loading bullets into guns during the tests that weapons use magazines. Tully also stated the bullet pathway as the pathologist in the case testified disproves the legal theory that Ferguson’s arm is bent at a 45-degree angle.
Tully pointed to one detective’s testimony about how far the casing from the gun projectile would go if the prosecutor was fired in the theorized way. However, Talley said he was found right next to the coffee table. This was consistent with the theory of accidental shooting.
Tully also claimed that the home surveillance video also showed no flashes at the muzzle. The bullet fractured the victim’s abdomen “slightly to the left” and left the upper right side of his back.
Talley said there was no evidence that his client was angry, but he said he was trying to create peace and end the conflict.
“He’s not mad,” he said. “Where did this drunken anger come from?”
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