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Son: Stabbing Attack By Stepfather A 'Horror Movie'

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By GEOFF FOX

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 29, 2008

TAMPA - Gabriel Neal never much liked the man authorities say fatally stabbed his mother.

Monday afternoon, Neal, 16, was wheeled into an auditorium at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, where he is recovering from stabbing injuries Pasco County sheriff's investigators say he suffered while trying to save his mom.

"It was like a horror movie," Neal said in a soft voice, describing what happened.

Neal was stabbed in the chest, mouth, hand and back and suffered a punctured lung and lost a tooth.

Besides Neal, authorities say Orane Glen Ferguson, 29, stabbed his 35-year-old wife, Lenora Michelle Ferguson, on July 20 at their Land O' Lakes home.

Deputies say the couple argued and then got into a fistfight over food. When Ferguson told her son to call 911, Neal went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife; Orane Ferguson followed and did the same, deputies say.

His wife ran into a bathroom and shut the door, said Doug Tobin, a sheriff's office spokesman.

Orane Ferguson kicked in the door and stabbed her, according to authorities.

When Neal tried to go in the bathroom, Ferguson stabbed him, too, Tobin said.

"She was a good single parent and always tried to do the best for me," Neal said. "Sometimes, we had our run-ins, but we had a good relationship."

Neal's take on Orane Ferguson is much different.

"I really didn't care for him," he said. "He used to try and argue with her. I'd jump in sometimes and tell him to chill out."

Ferguson had been married to Neal's mother for about three years. He's in the Land O' Lakes Jail, with bail set at $100,000, charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder.

Lakesha Robinson, Lenora Ferguson's sister, said the family is offended Ferguson wasn't charged with first-degree murder and that his bail isn't higher.

Robinson said she and husband Brandon are now Neal's guardians and will be moving here so Neal can attend Sunlake High School.

Brandon Robinson said, "He's my nephew, but he's just like a son to me."

Robinson said it is more important that people remember her sister for how she lived, not her violent death. She said Lenora Ferguson was a registered nurse and had been pursuing a master's degree.

"My sister was one of the most beautiful, nicest people," she said. "She was in love with the wrong man, but she did not deserve to be killed. He continued to stab her after she was dead.

"You leave children without a mother. If you don't want to be there, just walk away."

John Neal, Gabriel's father, has his own ideas about what should happen to Ferguson:

"He should be tied up and thrown into the Mississippi River," he said. "I think they should cut him up in a million pieces, honestly."

TO HELP

To help defray funeral and medical costs, the Gabriel Neal and Lenora Ferguson Fund has been established at all Bank of America locations.

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or gfox@tampatrib.com.

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