Geoffrey Kent Ferguson

Geoffrey Kent Ferguson (August 27, 1950 – May 6, 2003) was an American mass murderer who fatally shot five men following a rent dispute at his rental home in Redding, Connecticut on the evening of April 18, 1995, before setting his victims and the house on fire, marking it the largest massacre in Connecticut's history at the time. It has since been surpassed by the Hartford Distributors shooting in 2010 and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.

Early life Ferguson was born on August 27, 1950, in Alameda, California, but moved across the country to Coleytown, Connecticut as a child. He later had a troubled life in his high school days. Between October and November 1966, Ferguson committed his first crimes at the age of 16. On October 31, 1966, Ferguson vandalized the Staples High School auditorium, and four days later on November 3, Ferguson stole a 17-year-old classmate's vehicle. Ferguson was sentenced to a year of probation for the vandalism, but Ferguson was later arrested and sentenced to 30 days in jail for violating the probation the following year in 1967.

He graduated from Staples in 1971 after several brushes with the law.

Background Prior to the massacre, Ferguson rented a single-family home that was converted into three separate apartments in the Georgetown section of Redding, Connecticut, on 166 Portland Avenue, located across the street from the Metro-North Railroad line and less than away from the Branchville station, with the first floor having two apartments. Later that month, the three men that lived in the upstairs unit were late paying their rent. Meanwhile, in Powells Point, Ferguson told his friend to go to the Connecticut property and collect the rent that the three men owed. The tenants told him that they would pay Ferguson the rent, but the idea angered Ferguson. Ferguson drove up to Connecticut on March 29, 1995, and showed up that evening at the apartment to evict the men before causing a big mess. Ferguson destroyed the sofa, removed all of their furniture and belongings (including a VCR and a CD player), ripped off the toilet seat, ripped the pipes off the toilet, threw the toilet, and tossed the thermostat before leaving them scattered outside the property and all over the driveway. Auerbach, who was shot in the head twice, managed to escape the flames and telling first responders that "Ferguson did it", before succumbing to his injuries shortly after arriving at a Norwalk hospital.

Ferguson immediately hopped back in his rented Tempo and took off, driving back to North Carolina. Along the way, he stopped in Elizabeth City to call his father-in-law from Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Victims All of the victims except Gartrell were members of the Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department and had worked for a Stamford brokerage house. Gartrell was a nurseryman in neighboring Ridgefield.

Arrest and conviction On April 20, 1995, North Carolina officers arrested Ferguson at his home in Powells Point on a fugitive warrant, exactly two days after the murders. It was later confirmed that the handgun that was used in the shooting was a .22 caliber Bersa semi-automatic pistol that was owned by Ferguson. Authorities originally charged Ferguson with larceny and criminal lockout in the rent dispute, but was upgraded to five counts of first-degree murder and arson. Ferguson, who spent the first three months at the Central Prison in Raleigh, was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail for an extradition hearing, but later denied bail. after a brief battle led by Superior Court Judge William C. Griffin and Ferguson's court-appointed attorney H.P. Williams Jr. of Elizabeth City.

On April 25, 1998, Ferguson pleaded guilty to all counts. Shortly before his sentencing nearly two months later on June 11, 1998, Ferguson spoke to the lyrics of "Because You Love Me" by Celine Dion while reading a writing letter from his wife, expressing her love and support for him, before being sentenced to life in prison without parole. Authorities discovered Ferguson's body shortly before 3:00 a.m. the next morning at his cell, before Ferguson was taken to the Danbury Hospital where he was pronounced dead.