Jury convicts California judge of second-degree murder for shooting wife during argument

Jurors have convicted a southern California judge of second-degree murder for fatally shooting his wife while the couple argued and watched television at home, a prosecutor’s office says. Orange county superior court judge Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was on trial for the 2023 death of his wife Sheryl. The verdict comes after a previous jury deadlocked in March and Los Angeles superior court judge Eleanor J Hunter declared a mistrial. The case was heard in a courtroom about 10 miles (16km) from where Ferguson presided over cases as a judge. Immediately after the shooting, Ferguson and his son both called 911, and Ferguson texted his court clerk and bailiff saying: “I just lost it.