LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A celebrity chef accused of breaking into his estranged wife's home and strangling her earlier this year was back in court Monday morning.
Food Network star and Louisville native Darnell Ferguson, also known as "SuperChef," pleaded not guilty back in February to several charges including burglary, strangulation, and assault.
In court Monday, attorneys revealed there are five to six hundred pages of discovery have been turned over for review in the case and there's still more to come. Most of that evidence is "media," the attorney said.
Ferguson is expected back in court on July 3 for a pre-trial hearing.
Previous testimony revealed Ferguson had his three children with him the morning he assaulted the woman in her home.
St. Matthews Det. Mark Richardson, who responded to the home on Jan. 2, provided testimony in January detailing the circumstances of the alleged verbal dispute that led to the woman’s injuries.
"He put both of his hands around her throat and started to strangle her. As he did that, according to Mrs. Ferguson, he said 'I'm going to kill you,'" Richardson said under oath in front of a judge. "And the next thing she remembers, she was on the floor."
According to court documents, Ferguson illegally entered the woman's home and once inside, began yelling at her and punching the walls, damaging her home. The detective noted the couple is separated and going through a divorce.
Richardson said Ferguson called his wife multiple times the night prior to the incident and got no answer. The next morning, Ferguson allegedly drove to his wife's home, with their three children in the car, and entered the home without permission to find his wife and another man in bed together.
Richardson said "the victim and Mr. Ferguson got into a verbal argument" that quickly turned physical.
"He ripped her shorts off that she had on, asked her to spread her legs, and then pointed to her genitalia and said, 'That's mine and no one else's,'" Richardson said. "He calmed down a little bit and stated that he was sorry, then said, 'You need to get yourself together. The kids are here, they're going to be coming inside.'"
The arrest affidavit details the moments Ferguson allegedly grabbed his wife by her neck with both hands and began choking her. On Thursday, Richardson added that Ferguson reportedly told the victim that if she told anyone what had happened, that he'd take his own life.
The woman told authorities she couldn't breathe and lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, she said she was on the floor.
Police said before Ferguson left the victim's home, he stole her credit card, debit card, and ID.
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