THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 27, 1995 TAG: 9509270461
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BRIGITTE GREENBERG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: DANBURY, CONN. LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
A judge on Tuesday ruled there is enough evidence to bring a North Carolina man to trial in the slayings of three of his tenants and two of their friends at a house he owned in Redding.
After presiding over a probable cause hearing for more than a week, Superior Court Judge Edward F. Stodolink concluded there was more than a suspicion that Geoffrey K. Ferguson committed the April 18 murders.
``I think in this particular case, the state has proved much more than suspicion,'' said Stodolink, who issued his decision less than two hours after hearing final arguments.
Ferguson did not immediately react to the ruling.
A few minutes later, he leaned down to listen to his attorney, Miles Gerety, shook his head side-to-side, then sat down.
Danbury State's Attorney Walter Flanagan said he will seek the death penalty.
Ferguson, 45, of Powells Point, N.C., is accused of shooting the five young men at an apartment in a house he owned in Redding, then setting fire to the building.
Police say the killings grew out of a rent dispute.
During more than a week of testimony, prosecutors had argued that Ferguson was the only person who had intent, motive and opportunity to kill the young men.
The defense argued that circumstantial evidence against Ferguson is highly questionable.
Testimony presented during the probable cause hearing revealed that all five victims were shot at least twice in the head by a .22-caliber Bersa semiautomatic pistol on April 18 before Ferguson's three-family apartment house was set afire and destroyed.
Tenant Scott Auerbach, 21, died at Norwalk Hospital after two rescuers pulled him from the burning house.
The bodies of tenants David Froehlich, 22, and Jason Trusewicz, 21, and friends David Gartrell, 25, and Sean Hiltunen, 21, were found in the apartment.
Two bodies were found in the bathroom, two others in the living room.
Family members of the victims who were in court Tuesday declined immediate comment.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING ARREST TRIAL by CNB