Ice Baths, Handcuffs, Starvation: Victim's Brother Recalls Torture

thank you honor my next witness is already in the witness chair and that is Paul Ferguson all right Mr Ferguson can you please raise just rise and raise your right hand as best you can in this matter now pending do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you gu yes sir all right you put your hand down grab a seat please state your name for the record spelling your first name and last name Paul Ferguson p a u l f e r g u s o Mr Ferguson you are testifying here today and is it your understanding that you do have an agreement with the Mosen County prosecutor's office in exchange for your testimony today against your mother the defendant in this case Shonda VOR yes sir and uh is it your understanding that as part of that agreement the people have agreed that none of your testimony today would be used against you should you exercise your right to have a trial in the in the pending cronal matter against you yes sir and is it also your understanding that in exchange for your testimony today you understand that prosecutor's office will make uh representations to the judge that oversees your case if such time is reached that you are sentenced in that matter and that you hope to get some sentencing benefit as a result of your testimony today yes sir and is that in exchange for your truthful testimony today yes sir are you aware of any other promises in regards to your testimony today no sir and um you and for clarity sake you are also charged uh in this matter involving the death of your brother is that correct yes sir and what is what charge is brought against you at this point child abuse first degree and what do you understand the potential maximum penalty for well you know what strike that I want to that question um and you are prepared to testify today is that correct yes sir and you understand that your attorney that represents you in your pending fromental matter is president in the courtroom that's Mr Elden Brady and if at any time you need to ask him any questions or take a break you just let us know okay yes sir all right okay Mr Ferguson I'd like to start by just talking a little bit about um your home in Norton Shores uh at the time that your brother passed away um and so you understand and and I'll try to make sure that I ask these questions very carefully because you haven't been present for this entire trial you have a younger brother we are not using your your younger brother's name uh today okay so we're just going to use the initial G when we talk about your younger brother so try to remember as best you can that if I ask a question that it somehow involves your younger brother that we're not going to say his name okay can you do that yes sir all right we'll try to ask those questions very very carefully so that we don't get into that issue but um besides your younger brother G and yourself at the time that your brother Timothy Ferguson passed away who was living at the house in Norton Shores um besides you and your and your younger brother who else was living in the house uh my mother and my sorry my little brother though he was at my grand grandparents at the time my step grandparents and obviously your your your younger younger younger brother if you can put it that way but your youngest brother is the one that we're not identifying by name um he he was living in the house at the time that your next youngest brother Timothy Ferguson passed away correct yes sir and uh your mother was also living in that house as well yes and is she in the courtroom right now yes sir as best you can can you kind of Point her out or maybe say what she's wearing right now um her hair is in two braids she's got I think that's a black um sweatshirt I I think that's sufficient for the record to reflect thees identifi the defendant uh yeah the record to reflect that um now let's back up just a little bit from from the time your brother Timothy actually passed away um when did Timothy come to live with you and your mother in that house May 27th of 2001 2001 20 was it maybe 2021 21 I'm so sorry that's okay so in May of 2021 Timothy came to live with you is that right yes sir and at the time when Timothy came to live with you besides yourself and n g um was there somebody else that was living in the house during that time period um other than my mother and half brother my stepfather Adam okay and your step your stepfather Adam was he married to your mother at that time yes and is he actually the father of your younger brother G no um but your mother is the mother to you and to Timothy and to g is that right she's your mother she's Timothy's mother she's G's mother is it better way right yes um and at some point in time did something happen to Adam where he wasn't wasn't living in the home anymore he suffered a stroke in January did he leave the house at that point yes when you left the house at that point then is that then when it became just you your two brothers and your mother living in the home yes sir and when Adam suffered the stroke was he physically able to do anything to provide any care to either you or to Timothy or to G no um and where did Adam go when he left the house after after the stroke um after the hospital he went to live with my step-grandparents my in-laws in their house in West Olive when when did The Stroke happen January and from the time the stroke happened was he ever back in the home in any way no and you're the the folks that he went to live with were his parents is that right yes and they live in West ol down in Ottawa County yeah so those would be like your step grandparents yes and Timothy's they'd be Timothy step grandparents as well is that right yes now in addition to your to your younger brothers that we've talked about do you have any older siblings as well yes who who are your older siblings um my biological brother Nolan um steps sister Chelsea step brother Chris um there's I don't know exactly how to put it step step brother and sister Kenzie and xav I suppose would be the terminology but biologically speaking you have an older brother Nolan is that correct and Nolan is how much older than you two years two years older than you yes and was there a time where he lived with you at the house in noron Shores no where does noan live North Carolina so Timothy came to live with you and prior to Timothy coming to live with you was it just you and and G and your mom and stepdad in the house at that time yes so you went from four people in the house to five people in the house in May of 2021 yes and then back down to four people when Adam unfortunately had a stroke in January of 2022 yes now around the shortly after the time of the stroke um did there come a point in time where you became involved in having to administer some discipline to your younger brother to Timothy yes um we'll talk about some specifics but uh we've already had some text messages read and and you've had an opportunity to kind of hear about some of those text messages throughout this right yes sir and you sent text text messages back and forth between yourself and your mother um and we have those text messages from January through the time of your brother's death in July of 2022 is that your understanding yes sir the at some point in time in February there's discussion fairly early in those text messages about um blocking Timothy's access to food food can you describe what was happening at that time and how he was restricted from getting access to food um he was sneaking food that was not necessary at that time and it was solved by placing locks on the fridge freezer and Pantry I would say he was sneaking food that wasn't necessary who would make that determination that it wasn't necessary Shonda the uh and what type of food are we talking about that he would sleep that wasn't necessary sweets or anything he could really get his hands on so as early as February there was restriction that the locks were going on the freezer and the refrigerator and you said there was also some type of lock on the pantry is that right yes sir um and we've heard a Tex change but at some point a little bit later as as things are progressing into April was there a time where Timothy was doing something to get the locks off the pantry door he was pulling them off by hand and what were you instructed to do as a result of him pulling the pantry door locks off let me ask you this way was were were you were you g some instruction to replace that lock yes and who gave you that instruction Shonda and the and what was your understanding of why you were locking the pantry back up because he was sneaking food let's talk about your brother Timothy for just a little bit did Timothy have some special needs yes what were what was your understanding of what his special needs were he was Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder as well as autistic he had speech and motor impairments speech and what type imp motor impairments movement impairments movement impairments yes and is at the time that he came to live with you was he supposed to be taking some medication yes and did that did he stop taking his medication yes why did he stop taking his medication um I could you please reiterate yeah who I guess the better way of saying it is who made the decision for him to stop taking his medication Shonda as far as you know from the time that Timothy came to live with you in May of 2021 in Norton Shores to the time of his death did you ever see Timothy go to a doctor no did Timothy go to school not public no how was he School home and when we say home school what would that entail um at first it was assignments on a tablet and then my mother restricted it to where she would print out the assignments and he would sit downstairs and do them so we never went to school and never went to to a doctor as far as you could see yes sir um basically from January from the time of the stroke moving forward was Timothy allowed to even leave the house no when was when if ever was he ever allowed to go outside to walk the dogs sometimes and when he would walk the dogs where was it that he would walk dogs in the backyard out of sight was there ever some physical discipline that was involved with him being outside as well yes what was that discipline he was made to run up and down the patio stairs um and those are so those are stairs in the back of your house yes sir are those visible at all from the front of the house no sir visible to anyone walking by on the street or driving by anything of that nature no sir um there some text messages referenced in there where um where where there's a discussion about doing the stairs chasing style what is what is that if you remember um following close behind him to ensure he moves faster and and who would be the one that would chase him if that was taking place I had to what was bide you've talked about some of the the special needs that Timothy had when he came to live with you what was his overall physical appearance though when he first came to look with you um he wasn't skinny but he wasn't extremely overweight he had a good amount of chubbiness to him so we a little chubby yes um obviously as we all know now the jury's already seen some of the photographs that that went away at some point in time um did the food when did the food restriction on Timothy start with the locks going on the refrigerator and the freezer and the pantry and things of that nature when when did that actually begin sometime in in February um there's been some testimony already about Timothy going on a hunger strike around the time of Adam stroke to your knowledge did Timothy ever go on a hunger strike when Adam had a stroke no sir there's also a reference to him going on another hunger strike about two weeks before he passed away excuse me did that happen no sir the police have indicated that the time they search for residents there were a number of cameras seized uh as well as some other items so let's talk about the cameras first what was the purpose of the cameras being inside the residence to watch Timothy and who would be watching Timothy on those cameras my mother or when she couldn't she had me do so and how was it that you would kind of explain for the jury if you can how was it that you watched the cameras so you could watch what Timothy was doing I would log into the app on my phone and it would alert me if there was a motion movement so you had some type of you had your phone and you had some type of app on there that was connected to those cameras several yes and and you said that you were also alerted to movement were there motion sensors in the home uh they yes and the camera is also had that feature as well they activated on motion and what what was the restriction on Timothy's movement that would cause those cameras to go off where was he limited to could you please reiterate yeah where is it that where could Timothy go basically um mainly he was restricted to the downstairs area to a closet downstairs um the downstairs area actually contained two bedrooms one was yours and one was G's bedroom is that correct yes sir and there was also a bunk bed that was out in that area um that that we that I believe the defendant indicated was Timothy's bun is that correct yes sir where did he actually sleep those nights in the closet this and how what what did you call the closet was there a name you used to refer to the the closet the small room and what was in the small room if if Timothy was in the small room there was a camera monitoring him even when he slept was there an alarm on the door as well yes sir some type of motion sensor alarm motion vibration yes so the we had that on the door and then a camera actually inside the room as well is that correct yes sir and were there times where you were required to watch that camera yes sir and to your knowledge were there times when your mother was watching that camera as well yes sir was there a restriction on how much Timothy could could move while he was inside that closet could you please reiterate sir were there any restrictions on his movement inside the closet or was it he could move around however he wanted inside the closet there were restrictions what were the restrictions on his movement um hands on his head normally hands on his head is that what you indicated yes was that is some form of discipline for him yes on his knees and against a corner or wall of the room um when you say hands on head I'm going to demonstrate just putting my hands just over my head like this is that what he was required to do yes he was required to be on his knees as well is that a yes yes sir you have to say yes or no CU this is apologize you're fine no it's fine everybody makes that mistake it's not a problem um and was he monitored to make sure that he was doing those things yes sir and for how long would he have have to do these things several hours and that was and that was inside his closet for like better way putting it what you referred to as the small room correct yes sir um were there also times when he was required to stand against the wall yes sir and would would that be in the closet or would that be in other places in the house um at times it would be upstairs by the back door or on the wall between me and G's room and when he would stand against the the the wall how long were we talking about that he would be required to do that hours sometimes overnight at some point where did you utilize some type of alarm or alarms on his body to alert you if he was moving a vibration detector yes was there was there more than one that he was required where at times at times yes where were those devices located on his body um they were normally tied to the back Loop of his belt or the back Loop of his pants I apologize and whe was there something place on his wrist as well at any point handcuffs and before that zip ties zip cuffs when you say zip cuffs are those put together with zip ties yes and what and those were designed to restrict what movement of what part of his body his hands uh I think there's a text exchange that the jury's heard a couple of times where it's referencing him tightening those zip cuffs on his wrist do you recall that yes sir and so those what was happening that caus you to send that text message and had that exchange with with your mother about those zip CS he was complaining about them being too tight and what was your mother's response when he was complaining about those being too tight um to leave them and she'd deal with it after she got home so the jury has some clarity in terms of a schedule here you and your mother worked basically different shifts for lack of a better way of putting it is that fair to say yes sir what what was your job at that time I worked as a dishwasher at Applebees that which Apple P um the one in Grand Haven right off the bridge what was your normal shift that you would work um for to close what at that time was your mother working as well could you reiterate was your mother did your mother have a job as well yes where was your mother working as a court scribe I believe you would call it okay and where physically was was that job um did I remember of did she' say here at this courthouse so there was a time she worked at the Mosen County Courthouse yes do you remember a time when she worked in a in a Northern County at a courthouse as well I believe so yes and and what was her normal hours that she would work um 6 a.m. to 6: p.m. so would it be fair to say that you two are not together in the house very often yes um so whose responsibility was it to keep an eye on Timothy if she was not in the house mine and vice versa like if you were not in the home who would take the responsibility of watching Timothy at that point in time she would at the the small room that you've described at some point in time there was a uh a tar placed in there is that right yes sir what was the reason there was a tart placed in that room due to Timothy's bladder problem Shonda didn't want him year Mar eting on the floor would that be something that he would do yes would did he wear some type of adult diaper adult diaper yes and um let me ask it this way if Timothy had to go to the bathroom what was how would he go to the bathroom um he would have to ask and he would be timed who would do the timing um whichever one of us was there so we asked M Gast asked permission to go to the bathroom yes sir and what was the what time was he allowed to go to the bathroom for urine eating it was a minute um for uh you say the word it's okay taking a poop it was 2 minutes and who set those time limits Shonda we've seen a lot of text messages and references to hot sauce and hot sauce retrieve from the home um at some point in time did you have were were you asked to start feeding him bread with hot sauce on it yes and who asked to do that Shonda um why were you giving him bread with hot sauce on it um because he was supposedly misbehaving and how would you I mean describe to the jury what you would do to do that and to make him eat the bread with hot sauce um I would put it on bread have him stand in the kitchen area near the back door and watch him eat until he finish and was he required to eat it until it was all gone yes sir did it ever look like he wanted to eat the bread with hot sauce no were there times where you were told that he could have something besides bread with hot sauce on it if he ate the bread with hot sauce first regular bread yes so he had eat that bread with hot sauce first and then he could have some regular bread yes did he have to wait a period of time before he could eat the regular bread though yes sir well do you remember about what that was about 30 minutes with taking at the bread out of the equation was hot sauce used in some other fashion as a form of discipline for him it was or directly into his mouth and who would who would do that uh me or Shonda me under her um orders and does it's just like what you sound like you just how did you do that had him open his mouth and put it poured it in the there's some text messages do you recall a text message exchange with your mother in I believe it's around April or so where you've alerted her to the fact that he's eaten some uh some part of a burger yes do you recall that yes what what was it what part of the burger is it that he ate just the crust and what was your mother's response when you told her that she that he had eaten the crust of that burger make him throw it up did you try to do that I tried at first yes how did you try to do that um putting a finger into his mouth as instructed his the back of his throat to induce vomiting so who gave you the instruction to put your finger in the back of his throat Shonda we don't see a text message to that effect were you two also communicating by camera as well yes the cameras had a was it a two-way capability basically you could talk to the camera so you could talk and they could hear at certain times it could be activated was there ever any other time where she instructed you to make Timothy throw up yes about how many times did she instruct you to do that um three or four at some point in time did was there a form of discipline introduced that involved you placing Timothy in a cold tub yes and what was the what was the mechanism for that how did how did you do that um clo clog the tub plug it um turn on the water and take the ice that was in our ice maker upstairs and put it in and get have him get in initially how long was he supposed to sit in the cold water um 30 minutes 30 minutes and that when we say cold water we actually mean water with ice cubes in it is that what you're talking about yes um and how often when did that start in relationship when Timothy died if you remember I do not remember the exacts and do you know about how many times you did that up until the day that that the day before Timothy died um before the day that Timothy died the day before Timothy died we'll get to that in just a moment and I believe that three then so you remember doing it three times before the day before Timothy died yes and who would direct you to put him in the ice bath Shonda was there some type of camera in the bathroom as well yes on the counter was that camera monitored by somebody if if you were in the bathtub or if you were in the bathroom with Timothy Shonda were you instructed to stay in the bathroom with Timothy when he was in the tub yes why to ensure that he couldn't get comfortable or try to turn the water hot and what would you if you tried to move around what we instructed to do um I don't quite understand if if you said that you were supposed to make sure that he stayed uncomfortable how are you supposed to make him uncomfortable in a ice back um put his body at an odd angle that was not a comfortable position position to be in when he was in the tub would he tried to rest his head somewhere on his shoulder yes or the lip of the tub that allow no I know this is difficult for you Paul and you and I have had a number of conversations about this matter um but I need you to look a text message that you sent to your mother and it's got a photo that you took of your brother you remember sending that text message yes sir for the record this is people's 36a this been previously shown to the jury um who took that photo of your brother me and you sent it to your mother yes sir why did you send it to your mother because I was concerned with how thin he was that photo was taken on um do you remember what the date was not the exact no if your phone indicated it was June 13th you'd have no reason to dispute that no sir um and you just became again the reason you sent it to your mother was why because I was concerned about how thin he was you remember what your mother told you to give him in after she you sent her that photograph bread and then is there a reference to bread and some peanut butter yes the so at that point he's your brothers very skinny right was he eating regular meals at that point yeah were you still administering the hot sauce on the bread as a form of punishment for him during that time period yes and did that continue all the way up until the time of his death yes did he ever eat any normal type of meal leading up to his death after you took that photo and sent it to your mother um that day I made him an actual real meal some an actual peanut butter and jelly sandwich as well as scrambled some eggs and put cheese in them did you tell your mother you made that meal for no sir why not cuz I didn't want her to be upset with me let's move up to the day before your brother passed away do you remember the day before your brother died um he was unresponsive when I went to when I was told to get him up so you were given some instructions to wake him up in the morning yes was your mother already up yes where the the camera's activated at that point though yes so your responsibility when you had to go wake him up was what just to do what to get him um just wake him up which normally wasn't difficult before then but and this is the day before he passed away but was it difficult on that day very um did you scream at him and yell at him to get him to try to wake up yes and at some point where you're instructed to do something with him because he wouldn't wake up put him in a nice bath and did you do that yes was he able to where was he sleeping that night the closet so when you went to wake him up and he was unresponsive was he still in the closet yes how did you get him from the closet to the bathroom with the I had to drag him he wasn't he didn't stand on his own he couldn't no didn't walk on his own that no um was he even talking at that point no you remember about what time it was that you put him in the ice path um not exactly no um if the text message indicated was around 2:00 was that sound about right yes what time did you have to leave for work that particular day um I was supposed to be at work at 4:00 but unfortunately due to a flat tire on my ebike I had to wait till 6:00 for my mother to get home and drive me to work so from 2:00 to 6: until your mother got home you were home with Timothy is that right yes and where was Timothy that entire time that you were home with him in the bath in the ice bath was your mother giving you instructions on what to do with him while he was in that tub that at that point in time yes sir what was she telling you to do um make him uncomfortable and at one point she had me heat up a pizza roll to see if he would be responsive to enticement did you actually do that yes and what did you so describe for the jury exactly what you did with that pizza roll with Timothy in the tub um I held it close and when he responded as per instruction I was to pull it away from him so you and did you actually do this yes so you actually held a pizza roll in front of him to see if he would respond is that yes yes sir I know it's difficult did he respond yes sir and what did you do when he tried to respond I had to or as I was told I pulled it away so we didn't get to eat the pizza roll no do you recall um while Timothy was in the tub an exchange where your mother inquired about pouring hot sauce on his private parts I do yes did you do that no that was beyond cool as everything else was so you put him in the tub around two did your mom come home at 6 yes and when your mom gets home at 600 did you go to work at that point in time she drove me to work yes was Timothy still in the tub at that point in time yes so you and your mom drove to Grand Haven to drop you off at work and Timothy's just in the tub yes sir was he even physically able to move around at that point in time no do you recall getting a text message from your mother um around 11:30 or so that night while you were at work yes so I saw it later than that because I was busy so you received the text message but you didn't actually read it until a little bit late later than it was received yes sir and what was what did you understand from that text message from your mother about where Timothy had been up until the time you were at work at 11:30 at night still in the tub so that's 9 hours plus from the time that you first put him on the tub at 2:00 yes when you got home do you remember about what time you got home that night 1:00 how did you get home did somebody give you a ride yes a coworker did your mom your mom didn't pick you up that night did she no when you got home at 1:00 did you go to your bedroom yes downstairs in the in the basement area the lower level yes sir did you see Timothy at all no did you check on him at all no when did you next become aware that something was happening with Timothy the next morning and what happened um I had had to get up early so that Shonda could drive me to little premises area of work um and I'd been I'd gone to the laundry room to get a pair of clean socks and was then made aware that he was not breathing and where was he at that point in time in the closet and who made you aware that he wasn't breathing Shonda was he on his bunk bed no was he ever on his bunk bed from the time that he was in that small closet until the time the police right no sir if you know you know how much time passed from the time that you first became aware he wasn't breathing until 911 was call 18 minutes and during that 18 minutes was there did you tell your your mother or ask your mother if you were going to call 911 yes sir do you remember what she said no she said no sorry that was my bad I'm sorry good let's clarify do you do you remember what your mother said when you asked her if we should call 911 she said no so you didn't call 911 at that time no um during that time period uh what were you doing I was attempting to resuscitate though it was too late the time when he came out of the the small room how did he get out of the small room at that point how did his body actually come out of the small room he was removed by who uh Shonda and I believe I helped a bit what was he wearing when he came out of the room nothing but an adult diaper at some point did you put clothes on him yes who who put the clothes on him um both me and Shonda person shonda's uh request order however you'd like to phrase it so before he was wearing the diaper and but you put clothes on him while he's unresponsive outside of the small room yes and what do you remember what clothes you put on um a hoodie a pair of my jeans and Shonda had me remove my belt and put it on him she tell you why she wanted you to take the belt off and put it on because say the pants were too big at some point the 911 is actually called is that correct yes sir and before 911 was called I guess let me ask you this who actually called 911 me um but did Shonda actually talk to the 911 folks if you're you remember not that I remember of no okay um before 911 is called was there some discussion about a hunger strike yes what was the discussion about the hunger strike at that point Shonda said to say that he'd gone on a hunger strike found him on the bed seems obvious but who was she referring to Timothy and say that he was found on the bed yes the bed so 911 comes at that point and then the police are also involved is that right yes sir at some point in time did the police leave you guys alone in the home yes later that night yes and when that happened uh did chonda do anything with any of the items in the house she disposed of evidence what did she dispose of vibration detectors a camera upstairs that was not confiscated she broke the memory chip that was inside into four pieces and threw them out the window as we were driving to Grandma and Grandpa Vander AR so you went down to Grandma Grandpa Vander AR that night yes and she disposed of evidence on the way down to yes and the vibration alarms were thrown into a trash can were in stuffed in a plastic bag and thrown into a trash can at the Chick-fil-A in the house um when you say the the vibration alarms you talking about the sensors that were on the doors yes was that this was one of those the sensor that was on the small room door yes um Mr Ferguson we've had some youve testified about some of the alarms that were placed on Timothy's body did those alarms uh what would those alarms do I mean how would they make noise or alert people um allow beeping was that was that something you could hear if you were in Pro in in close to the alarms yes through solid wall even and did Timothy have some a problems yes sensitive hearing had sensitive hearing and had had tubes in planted at one point um to your knowledge r aware that he had these hearing problems in the tubes in his ears very much so and were the again to your knowledge was it indicated to you that the alarms were a form of punishment for him that is if they went off they would be harmful to him and distracting to him I believe so um and we talked about the being made to stand against the wall um was he made to do something else against the wall as a form of punishment as well wall sits and wall sits for the jur that might not be aware is what basically um back pressed against the wall sitting with your Crouch with your legs as though you're sitting in a chair but nothing to support your weight on your no buttock or your upper thigh at no at some point he was forced to do that as well I have no further question

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Keywords: court tv full trials, court tv live, court tv live stream free today, court tv trials, court tv full trials live, court tv, court tv live stream, court tv on the docket, live court tv full trials, court tv live stream today, Paul Ferguson, court tv investigation, Timothy Ferguson, MI v. Shanda Vander Ark, shanda vander ark, tortured Son Murder Trial Day, Victim's Brother, bread soaked in hot sauce, panic attack in court, Special needs child, Michigan court cases

Id: iuoisyLZAR4

Length: 42min 24sec (2544 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 13 2023