THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504220296
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: POWELLS POINT LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Neighbors of Geoffrey Kent Ferguson said Friday they cannot believe that ``such a nice, quiet, easy-going'' man could have had anything to do with the deaths of five young men in Connecticut.
Ferguson, 44, is a self-employed handyman who has lived with his wife and 2-year-old daughter in this quiet, Currituck County hamlet of about 1,000 residents for more than a year.
Ferguson also owns a Redding, Conn., home where five young men were killed Tuesday night.
The house was gutted by an arsonist's fire that same night.
Ferguson is charged with larceny and criminal lock-out in connection with a dispute earlier this month with tenants of the house.
As of late Friday, he had not been charged with anything else. However, Connecticut police want to question Ferguson about the slayings.
``When I heard it, I wasn't surprised. It went way beyond that - I was absolutely shocked,'' said Al Wickens, who lives next to Ferguson's one-story beige house in the quiet, tree-lined subdivision on Pinewood Acres Drive. ``The whole neighborhood is shocked.''
``It's just impossible to believe. I can't imagine he'd do anything like that,'' agreed Wickens' wife, Jocelyn.
``We probably talked to him more than anyone else in the neighborhood, just because he lived next door.
``He was always friendly. I never saw him get angry or raise a hand to anyone. He never even raised his voice while he was training his dog.
``I never saw him without a smile on his face.''
A white Toyota pickup sat in Ferguson's driveway Friday - a testament to the many jobs he performed.
``Framing, drywall, painting, masonry, free estimates,'' said signs on the truck's bed.
A yellow baby swing hung from a backyard swingset. Lace curtains adorned front windows of the $69,000 house. Hand-split firewood was stacked above the A-frame roof.
``He was a good person, a good neighbor, always busy, always working hard,'' Al Wickens said of Ferguson.
``The man worked all day doing odd jobs on the Outer Banks. Then, he'd come home and work until dark in his yard. Until a month or so ago, I didn't even know he had a home in Connecticut.''
Neighbors said Ferguson did not seem upset or angry when the saw him Easter weekend. No one had heard him complain about his Connecticut tenants.
They said they had never seen Ferguson with a gun.
``He was friendly - not snobbish or anything,'' Jocelyn Wickens said. ``He wasn't reclusive. But he didn't bother you about anything, either. He didn't talk a whole lot. Usually, he was quiet and laid back.
``I just hope it's not him.'' MEMO: Main story also on page B1. by CNB