Orange County judge who says wife's shooting was accidental to be tried on murder charge

A California superior court judge who says he accidentally shot his wife following an argument last year has been ordered to stand trial on a murder charge.

Jeffrey Malcolm Ferguson, a 73-year-old Orange County Superior Court judge, is charged in the death of his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl Ferguson, who was shot in the couple's home in Anaheim on Aug. 3.

At a court hearing on Thursday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter rejected a defense motion to dismiss Ferguson's case and ordered Ferguson to stand trial.

Ferguson's attorney, T. Edward Welbourn, had argued that there was insufficient evidence against his client and pointed to the couple's son and only eyewitness, who told police that he felt the shooting was accidental, KABC-TV reported.

"He would never intend to hurt her," Welbourn told reporters following a previous court hearing, the station reported. "It was just a terribly tragic incident that occurred ... The last thing he would try to do is hurt the love of his life."

USA TODAY has reached out to Welbourn for comment.

Officers say Ferguson felled like alcohol after the shooting

The hearing featured testimony from three Anaheim police officers and a detective who arrived to the couple's home after their adult son called 911.

"I just killed my wife," Ferguson said when police arrived, Officer Andrew Compton testified, according to KABC-TV.

Anaheim Officer Joshua Juntilla testified that Ferguson smelling of alcohol and asked: "What did I do? My son will hate me forever," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Ferguson, who was in tears, asked whether his wife was dead at one point and also told police to "just shoot me," the officers testified.

Hunter ruled there was probable cause for the judge to have intentionally killed his wife and that there was enough evidence to support a murder charge, the Times reported.

The argument that preceded the shooting

The Fergusons and one of their adult sons, Phillip, were eating at a Mexican restaurant before the shooting, Anaheim Police Detective Michael Nguyen testified, according to KABC-TV. Phillip told police that his parents got in an argument and that his father pointed a hand gesture "in the shape of a gun" at his mother, and that she then walked out of the restaurant, Nguyen said.

After dinner the three went home and watched television before arguing again, Phillip told police.

As Phillip was about to go outside, he overheard his mother saying something along the lines of, "Why don't you point a real gun at me?" He told police he then saw his father holding a gun that immediately went off.

Phillip told police there were a number of reasons he thought his dad fired the weapon accidentally, including that his father "never shoots one-handed" and that his parents routinely argued, KABC-TV reported. He also said he believed alcohol played a factor and pointed a previous incident in which his father fired a bullet into a bathroom floor, according to the Times.

The judge concluded that: “While I appreciate the son’s opinion that this was accidental − bless his heart − he’s in a horrible position,” she said, according to the Times.

Ferguson's arraignment is scheduled for July 5.