US top judge arrested – suspected of having shot dead his wife

US top judge arrested suspected of having shot dead

A top judge in the United States is being investigated on suspicion of murdering his wife.

Jeffrey Ferguson, 72, was arrested after Sheryl was found shot in the couple’s luxury California home.

– It is a very tragic situation for everyone involved, says Lorri A Walton of the North Orange County Bar Association.

Top judge Jeffrey Ferguson in California, USA, has been arrested – suspected of murdering his wife.

Police had been called to the couple’s mansion in the upscale Anaheim Hills neighborhood Thursday night after callers heard gunshots coming from there.

There, Sheryl Ferguson was found shot and pronounced dead at the scene, writes AP. Her husband, the 72-year-old Orange County Superior Court judge, was immediately arrested.

Won “lawyer of the year”

According to Jon McClinton of the Anaheim Police Department, another person was also in the house at the time of the arrest. He does not want to say who the person is or if the person was one of those who raised the alarm.

“This is a very tragic situation for everyone involved,” said Lorri A. Walton, a board member of the North Orange County Bar Association.

During Ferguson’s time as a prosecutor, the association had named him “lawyer of the year”.

fullscreen Jeffrey Ferguson, a top Southern California judge has been arrested in connection with the murder of his wife. Photo: AP

10 million in bail

According to Ferguson’s Facebook page, he grew up in a military family and traveled extensively in Asia as a child. He is educated at a law school in California, AP writes. Ferguson’s successful legal career began in 1983 and he has served as a judge in Orange Country since 2015.

He and Sheryl married in 1996 and have one son together. The top judge has been married once before and also has a son with his ex-wife.

Ferguson was first held in custody on a bail equivalent to more than 10 million kroner, but has now been released. The judge has not been formally charged.

full screen Officers investigate a shooting at a home in California, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Photo: Paul Bersebach/AP

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