The lawyer for a Southern California judge acknowledged Monday that his client fired the deadly shot that killed his wife but contended it was an accident. Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson sat in the courtroom about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away from where he previously presided over criminal cases,

A Southern California judge charged with the murder of his wife took the stand Monday to testify in his own defense, telling the courtroom he accidentally shot her with the gun he carried in an ankle holster.

An Orange County Superior Court judge testified Monday that he did not intend to fatally shoot his wife and that the gun was accidentally triggered. Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, is charged with murder with sentencing enhancements for discharge of a gun causing death and the personal use of a gun for the Aug.