Geoffrey Kent Ferguson

Case record: State of Connecticut v. Geoffrey Kent Ferguson

Background

Geoffrey Kent Ferguson lived with his wife and 2-year-old daughter after moving to North Carolina from Connecticut, and he worked as a handyman. His wife worked as a special education teacher in nearby Pasquotank County.

In Redding, the victims were remembered as happy-go-lucky young men, a close-knit circle of friends who had been active in the Boy Scouts and were enthusiastic volunteer firefighters. Neighbors said they sometimes played rock ’n’ roll late into the night, jamming among themselves, but they apparently never had any troubles with the law or school authorities.

Susan Haig, the assistant principal, called the victims “good kids,” naming school-related activities including school theater productions and the wilderness survival program. Although they were not outstanding high school students and had not gone on to college, town residents said they were finding their way as adults.

A town official said the plumbing was so bad that the men had to use an outhouse. At least two inspections by town officials discovered health and building code violations. An April 10 letter from the town sanitarian, Roy C. A. Bradshaw, to Mr. Ferguson said there was no heat on the second floor, no toilet, a leaky roof and fire hazards. The letter also stated: “Nonpayment of rent by a tenant does not entitle the landlord to deprive the tenant of heat, water, power, etc.”

After the dispute broke out between the young men and Mr. Ferguson, town officials discovered that Mr. Ferguson had illegally converted a single-family home into a three-unit building without receiving the necessary permits. The house was in a zone in which multifamily dwellings are prohibited.

The offence

The incident involved a rent dispute and threats made by Ferguson.

Tensions between landlord and tenant began in March, when a rent check bounced. Ferguson began eviction proceedings and also took direct, violent action. He broke into an apartment, tore out the toilet and telephone, destroyed a sofa, and threw a compact-disk player, a video-cassette recorder and other belongings into the driveway.

After the men returned, they estimated they were missing $3,000 worth of possessions. The men sued Ferguson for damages, claiming his actions constituted an illegal eviction, and they also went to the police. A warrant was issued for Ferguson’s arrest.

Ferguson repeatedly threatened his three tenants, and on the night of April 18, 1995, after the tenants were late with rent, he came to the house, shot the three tenants and two guests, and set the building on fire.

Autopsies revealed that all five victims died of gunshot wounds to the head. Four bodies were burned beyond recognition in the blaze.

One tenant, Scott Auerbach, managed to crawl out of the blaze and told emergency workers that, “Ferguson did it.” Scott Auerbach later died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Authorities said the state police labeled the fire as arson.

Investigation

Connecticut State Police planned to question the landlord of a burned-out house where five men had been found shot to death earlier in the week.

Autopsies revealed that all five men had died of gunshot wounds to the head. Dr. H. Wayne Carver 2d, Connecticut’s chief medical examiner, said autopsies revealed that all five men had died of gunshot wounds to the head.

Arrest

Ferguson was being sought by Connecticut authorities for questioning in the deaths and arson.

Ferguson was arrested at his home in Powells Point, N.C. on Thursday, April 21, 1995, and was held in lieu of $500,000 bail for an extradition hearing.

At the time of the arrest, Ferguson was described as a landlord, a handyman, and as being 44 years old.

Ferguson was being held on Connecticut larceny and illegal lock-out charges at the Currituck jail, with bond set at $500,000. An arraignment was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday in Pasquotank County.

Trial

On April 18, 1995, three tenants and two guests were shot execution-style at the house in Redding, Connecticut. Their bodies were then set afire.

On June 11, 1998, Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Norwalk Superior Court.

Each of the men was shot in the head, and four of the bodies were burned beyond recognition.

At sentencing, Ferguson made a statement by reciting lyrics from a love song by Celine Dion. Just before sentencing, Ferguson spoke lyrics to Dion’s song, “Because You Love Me.”

Ferguson read aloud from a letter sent to him by his wife, Keri, who was not present. The letter included lyrical snippets from the Dion song, including: “You are always there for me,” “You gave me wings,” and “You’re the one who saw me through it all.”

Ferguson sat down and said nothing else after quoting brief passages from the song.

When Ferguson was sentenced, Dale Gartrell told Ferguson: “May you rot from the inside out.” Ms. Gartell’s 25-year-old son, David, was one of the friends killed.

Sentencing

Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Connecticut prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty because they felt some of the evidence was too circumstantial to win a conviction.

Appeals

No appeals were provided in the case record.

Outcome

Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1998.

On May 7, 2003, Ferguson committed suicide in prison.

Aftermath

On May 8, 2003, police and the office of the chief state medical examiner reported details about Ferguson’s death.

Ferguson, 52, died as a result of asphyxia due to ligature strangulation—tying something around his neck. Police said he did not hang himself.

Associated reports said Ferguson was pronounced dead about an hour after he was found unresponsive in his cell at the Garner Correctional Center, where he was serving a life sentence without a chance of parole. An autopsy determined Ferguson strangled himself, but police said they were unsure what he used.

Timeline

• April 18, 1995 — Ferguson shot three tenants and two guests at the house in Redding, set the building on fire, and one tenant, Scott Auerbach, escaped the blaze and told emergency workers, “Ferguson did it.”
• April 20, 1995 — Authorities reported an arson fire gutted a house where a rock ’n’ roll band practiced; five people were found dead inside and burned beyond recognition; Scott Auerbach escaped the flames but died shortly after at a hospital.
• April 21, 1995 — Ferguson was arrested at his home in Powells Point, N.C. on Connecticut larceny and illegal lock-out charges; he was held in lieu of $500,000 bail for an extradition hearing.
• July 20, 1995 — Ferguson was sent back to face murder charges after a last-minute attempt to block his extradition was unsuccessful.
• June 11, 1998 — Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Norwalk Superior Court.
• May 7, 2003 — Ferguson committed suicide in prison.
• May 8, 2003 — Police and the chief medical examiner reported Ferguson died of asphyxia due to ligature strangulation and was found unresponsive at Garner Correctional Center.

Other details

Ferguson was described at different points as being 44 years old and 47 years old, and at the time of his death as 52 years old.

Ferguson was said to have moved to Currituck County in December 1993.

A retired mechanical engineer and father of eight, Jack Froehlich, described Ferguson’s threats and said Ferguson had told young men that if they caused any difficulties, he would go to the house from North Carolina and would be armed.