The murder trial of an Orange County judge who pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and fatally shot his wife during an argument at their Anaheim Hills home ended in a mistrial Monday after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict despite more than 40 hours of deliberations. Prosecutors said they plan to retry the case.

A year and a half after Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, while sitting in a police station, said aloud to himself “I killed her. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, convict my ass. I did it,” the actual jury tasked with deciding his fate announced they were deadlocked during their ninth day of deliberations, which lasted longer than the trial itself.

The jury foreperson told the judge that they were hung 11 to 1 on a second-degree murder charge, with the majority of the jurors backing a guilty verdict. Had they unanimously agreed that Ferguson was not guilty of second-degree murder, the jury could have considered either a lesser involuntary manslaughter conviction or acquitting Ferguson of all charges.

Ferguson — who at times seemed to be holding back emotion during the weeklong trial — did not show any obvious reaction to the announcement of the mistrial.

No one disputed that Ferguson fired the gunshot that killed his wife, Sheryl, from a Glock .40-caliber pistol he constantly carried in an ankle holster and only took off to shower or sleep.

Instead, jurors had to decide whether the judge purposely killed his wife during a heated argument, as alleged by the prosecution, or if he accidentally fired the fatal gunshot after fumbling the weapon, as argued by the defense.

Hours before the shooting, Ferguson got into an argument with his wife over money they had given the judge’s adult son from a previous marriage, Kevin, that Sheryl felt the son hadn’t been appreciative of. The argument continued, according to testimony, as the couple went to dinner with the judge’s other son, Phillip, who was home from college for the summer.

At one point at the restaurant, Judge Ferguson made a “finger gun” motion at his wife. The gesture angered her enough to walk away from their table for a few minutes. But the judge later testified that he meant it as a way to indicate that his wife had won the argument.

When they got back to their Anaheim Hills home, the couple and their son sat down in a family room to watch the final episodes of the television show Breaking Bad. Judge Ferguson would later admit to being drunk at the time — having had drinks at home and at the restaurant — but claimed he was trying to apologize to his wife.

Phillip, the couple’s son, later described his mother saying “Why don’t you use a real gun?” to his father, an apparent reference to the “finger gun” gesture at dinner. According to prosecutors, Judge Ferguson immediately pulled a Glock .40-caliber pistol out of his ankle holster and fired a single gunshot, killing his wife.

Ferguson told a different story. He testified that the wife actually said something like “Why don’t you put the real gun away from me?” and followed up by making her own “finger gun” motion at him and making a “Pshew! Pshew!” sound to apparently mimic gunfire. Ferguson described taking his gun out of his ankle holster and trying to place it on a coffee table when his bad shoulder gave out and he fumbled the firearm and his finger accidentally hit the trigger, firing the gun.

The son in his initial police interviews described seeing his father take the gun out, aim it and fire. He also initially told police that the gunshot came moments — perhaps as quickly as a second — after his mother made a comment about a gun. But in testimony during the trial, the son changed his story slightly to say he only saw the gunshot and to describe an up to 30 second delay between his mother’s comment and the gun firing.

Ferguson went outside the home to wait for paramedics, leaving his son to perform CPR on his dying mother. The judge texted the bailiff and clerk who worked in his Fullerton courtroom, telling them “I just lost it. I shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.”

For more than an hour, Ferguson made a series of seemingly incriminating recorded statements, first while handcuffed outside his home and later while sitting at the Anaheim Police station.

At times he wept for his wife and his son. At other times he castigated himself with self-loathing. And at some points he bragged about his accomplishments as a DA and a judge.

The prosecution argued the text and statements were effectively a confession. But, as the defense pointed out, the judge in the midst of those comments never directly said he intentionally shot his wife.

During closing arguments last week, Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt told jurors that Ferguson’s description of the shooting was “ludicrous.” The shooting wasn’t an accident, the prosecutor argued, but the violent culmination of the ongoing argument.

“He lost it, grabs his gun,” Hunt said. “She says something that bothers him and he shoots her.”

“His explanation doesn’t even make sense internally, as a story,” the prosecutor added. “It is just nonsense.”

Attorney Cameron Talley, who is representing Ferguson, told jurors that it made no sense that Ferguson would pick that particular night to kill his wife while watching television with their son. Talley argued that the ballistic evidence matched his client’s testimony, and noted that according to testimony the judge didn’t say anything to his wife before the single gunshot was fired.

“If it is a drunken rage, don’t you expect him to say something?” Talley asked jurors. “And only one shot. Is that consistent with an accident or drunk rage?”

Ferguson’s familiarity with criminal law gave him an advantage when speaking to police and testifying, the prosecution argued.

“That puts him in a unique position as a defendant,” Hunt told jurors. “He knows how to answer certain questions and evade others.”

The defense denied that Ferguson was a “mastermind” who perfected a post-shooting story for investigators and jurors.

“All the times he talks about what he did, he feels tremendous guilt,” Talley said of Ferguson’s comments while in police custody. “He never says he murdered his wife or he did it on purpose.”

“It is not a confession,” the defense attorney added.

During the course of his testimony earlier this week, Ferguson admitted repeatedly breaking the law by carrying a concealed weapon while consuming alcohol, a violation of the concealed carry permit he has had since the mid-1980s. He also admitted to drinking during lunch breaks once or twice a week when he was a sitting judge before going back to court to hear criminal cases.

Ferguson spent more than 30 years involved in the criminal justice system, first as a prosecutor with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and then as a criminal court judge.

Sheryl Ferguson also had law enforcement ties, working for a time with both the Santa Barbara and Orange County probation departments.

Sheryl Ferguson’s death, and her husband’s arrest, sent shockwaves through the local legal community. Those who knew the couple said he seemed calm and funny, while she was supportive and dedicated to her son. The couple was planning a move to Texas, where their son was attending college.

The case was quickly assigned to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interest with his judicial colleagues in Orange County. But the trial itself included an Orange County jury hearing the case in a Santa Ana courtroom.

The prosecution following the mistrial confirmed that they plan to retry the case, something the judge presiding over the case said would happen “sooner rather than later.”

But complicating plans for a retrial are statements made by Sheryl’s family earlier on Monday.

Larry Rosen, Sheryl’s brother, announced in a statement released through his victim right’s attorney that he believes the shooting “was entirely accidental, that consumption of alcohol was not a contributing factor in my sister’s shooting and that Jeff’s arm would have given out regardless.” The brother has been present for the entire trial, including all of the testimony and attorney arguments.

“I have been conflicted since day one — this all would have been so much easier if the shooter were a bad guy,” Rosen said in a statement.

“I have great respect for Jeff and have known him for many years,” Rosen added. “I would trust him with my life.”

Rosen, in his statement, argued that Ferguson should face a lesser charge then murder. Rosen said such a move by prosecutors would prevent Ferguson’s adult son from having to testify in a retrial and would allow him to inherit his father’s pension. The brother also said that the DA’s office “has not given any consideration” to his opinion or feelings about the case.

“Accepting responsibility for an act does not necessarily make the act criminal,” Rosen said. “Jeff has great remorse and guilt for fumbling the gun resulting in Sheryl’s passing. And I see this outcome as bringing closure to the entire family.”

A representative for the DA’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the brother’s statement.

Ferguson soon after his arrest posted $1 million bail and spent months free with an ankle monitor while awaiting trial.

Last year, Los Angeles County Judge Eleanor J. Hunter doubled Ferguson’s bail to $2 million after she determined he lied to her to cover up consuming alcohol while awaiting trial. Hunter described Ferguson’s claim that his use of cortisone cream and hand sanitizer had caused a false-positive reading for alcohol on his ankle monitor as “ridiculous” and accused him of lying to her. Ferguson spent several weeks in lockup before posting the higher bond.

As an elected judge, Ferguson has continued to draw his salary while awaiting trial. But a felony conviction would mean that the Commission of Judicial Performance — an independent state agency tasked with investigating allegations of judicial misconduct and disciplining judges — could suspend him from office.