106-year-old grandma strangled to death by her 35-year-old grandson, Texas cops say

Months after a 106-year-old woman was found dead in her Texas home, her grandson has been indicted in her “suspicious” death, authorities say.

The Amarillo Police Department said Cecilia Ferguson was found dead Nov. 26 in the home she shared with her grandson, 35-year-old Michael Alexander Ferguson.

At the time, officers said there were “suspicious circumstances” that surrounded her death. But her grandson, according to police, denied any involvement.

The grandson was arrested on an injury to the elderly charge, and that charge was upgraded to murder on Dec. 23, police said.

Authorities called the case “tragic,” indicating they were continuing to investigate.

Now, Michael Ferguson has reportedly been indicted for murder following an official ruling of his grandmother’s death.

Cecilia Ferguson’s official cause of death was listed as “asphyxia due to manual strangulation with other significant conditions being a subdural hematoma due to blunt impact trauma,” according to court documents obtained by KAMR.

Michael Ferguson, the caretaker for his grandmother, said he waited hours to call 911 because “he didn’t know what to do,” KVII reported.

A woman who helped care for the 106-year-old was also questioned because she was at the home as officers were investigating.

“Sorry you (got) caught up in all that. I didn’t know they were gonna be investigating that much...” the grandson texted the woman, according to the court documents obtained by KVII.

Michael Ferguson has been in the Potter County Jail since Nov. 27, records show.

Amarillo is in the Texas Panhandle in between Oklahoma City and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 10:12 AM with the headline "106-year-old grandma strangled to death by her 35-year-old grandson, Texas cops say."