Rift over paternity of son led to shooting death, Judge Ferguson's son testified

On day two of Orange County Judge Jeffrey M. Ferguson's retrial, his son testified that the family discovered six years ago that his older brother wasn't Ferguson's biological child -- a revelation he said ignited years of conflict and helped set the stage for his mother's fatal shooting.

"None of us, including my brother, were aware of that until that point, at least to my knowledge," Phillip Ferguson said. "I think it might have really affected my mother. I know that my mother always had issues with Kevin after that, whether it is accurate or not I can't say, but my mother and father were always arguing about my brother and money after that."

Phillip, who was 22 when he saw his father kill his mother on Aug. 3, 2023, didn't say how the family learned his older brother Kevin wasn't Jeffrey Ferguson's biological son, or who Kevin's father is. Kevin watched from the gallery as Phillip testified; the brothers left court together afterward.

Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson. Prosecutors say the couple argued over the judge's financial support for Kevin during dinner and continued fighting at home, where Ferguson claims his gun discharged accidentally as he removed it from his ankle holster and set it on a table.

Under cross examination Tuesday from defense attorney Cameron J. Talley, Phillip Ferguson detailed the tension in his family once Kevin's paternity was revealed. People v. Ferguson, 23NF1975 (O.C. Super. Ct., filed Aug. 11, 2023)

"Is it fair to say your mom always had some resentment towards your brother," Talley asked.

"Yes," Ferguson replied.

"When you heard the gun go off, what was the next thing you did?" Talley asked.

"Next thing I did was I jumped over the edge of the couch to get the gun from my dad," Ferguson responded.

"Didn't you tell Detective Nguyen that your mother said, 'Why don't you point a real gun or something like that?" Talley asked.

"I don't remember," the son replied.

"Are you telling the truth?" the lawyer asked.

"Yes," he replied.

Throughout the cross examination, Talley sought to highlight inconsistencies in Phillip Ferguson's story to detectives on the night of the shooting and in testimony in the first trial. The lawyer challenged whether the son had actually witnessed the shooting at all.

"After your mom had told your dad to 'shut the fuck up' at the restaurant, your dad was continuing to try to apologize, right?" Talley asked.

Phillip responded: "He wasn't raising his voice at her while he was apologizing, right."

"Right. He was trying to make things right," Talley confirmed. "Your dad wasn't the one being loud, right?"

"Well, he was apologizing. He wasn't screaming his apology loud, so, right?" Phillip replied.

The new testimony contrasts sharply with the first trial, where prosecutors said a heated argument ended with Sheryl Ferguson--angered by her husband mimicking a gun with his finger--saying, "Why don't you use a real gun?" Ferguson then allegedly pulled a .40-caliber Glock from his ankle holster and shot her.

During the first trial, Phillip described witnessing both his father removing the weapon from its holster and firing it.

"She goes ahead and says, 'Why don't you point a real gun at me' or something like that," Phillip testified then.

The detective who interviewed Phillip that night also testified in the first trial that the son had described the shooting as occurring immediately -- "a second" -- after his mother's alleged comment about using a "real gun."

But on Tuesday, Phillip testified he didn't see his father draw the gun or aim it. He said he was opening a sliding glass door and turned around just before the shot, describing a delay of up to 30 seconds after his mother's alleged comment.

Under redirect questioning by Hunt, Phillip was asked if he remembered seeing the gun in his father's hand.

He replied that he didn't recall.

"You testified that you tackled your father to wrestle the gun from his hand. Would it be safe to say that if you didn't see a gun in his hand, you wouldn't have tackled him?" Hunt asked.

Phillip replied he didn't know.

Before Phillip Ferguson took the stand, Judge Eleanor J. Hunter dismissed Juror 51, who said he'd been offered a job requiring immediate attention. An alternate was seated in his place.