A caricature artist stabbed at Universal Orlando testified Wednesday that his accused attacker said he'd "come after" him over being fired — moments before he put scissors in his hand and tried to stab him.

Glenn Ferguson was attacked and stabbed on New Year's Day 2016 and still has a large scar on the side of his head.

Upset and clinging to his service dog, Gracie, Ferguson took the stand in an Orange County courtroom to testify against his former coworker and caricature artist, Fredrick Torres, who is charged with attempted murder in the stabbing.

Ferguson said Torres told him, "If I'm fired, I'm coming after you," then grabbed a pair of scissors.

The coworkers were friends for more than a decade, according to Ferguson, and they'd planned to watch football on New Year's Day. But Torres, who worked as a contract caricature artist at Islands of Adventure, was fired via email on New Year's Eve. So Ferguson volunteered to come in to fill Torres' shift.

On the stand, Torres' former boss, Anthony Fasen, testified that he thought there was confusion about Torres' employment status, so Torres showed up at work — only to see Ferguson working at his station.

That's when Torres snapped, his defense attorney argued.

Ferguson said while he was running from Torres he kept thinking, "Im going to die. No one's going to help me. I'm going die and everybody's going to watch." 

"What you're not going to hear is any testimony about premeditation. There's no evidence that Mr. Torres was planning an ambush, or planning an attack on Mr. Ferguson," public defender Andrew Parnell said.

So Torres' team isn't denying what happened but say Torres snapped — and the attempted murder charge against him doesn't apply to their client’s overreaction.

The prosecution, meanwhile, argues that Torres said he was going to kill Ferguson — and nearly did.

In court, they showed video of Ferguson running from a man. While Universal park visitor video played for jurors, Ferguson clenched his hands over his ears and closed his eyes.

“You're going to see as Mr. Ferguson is screaming for his life. Hands up, palms out... And you're going to watch as Mr. Torres is pummeling him," Assistant State Attorney Mark Interlicchio said.

Ferguson clenched his eyes and ears, refusing to watch the replay, saying he doesn't need to watch it again because his stab wounds left him with a constant reminder in the form of a persistent tremor, speech impediment and horrific memory he can't escape.  

During testimony Wednesday, Ferguson said as he tried to flee the attack, he thought, "I can't outrun him — he's a marathon runner. But what can I do to get out of this situation?"

"He (Torres) lunged at me and I fell backwards," Ferguson said. "It hit my neck and he just pounded and just swinging repeatably as fast as he could move his arm." 

A former Universal Orlando employee who says she witnessed the attack also took the stand. She became emotional while recounting how Ferguson was chased by his attacker. She said she saw Ferguson run toward security guards for help, who laughed at first because they thought the two men were playing a game.

Jurors also heard from forensic experts who said the scissors broke in two. One blade was recovered at the Universal crime scene. The other blade was surgically removed from Ferguson's skull.

After Ferguson's testimony, jurors were dismissed for the day before closing arguments Thursday.

The state has to prove Torres intended to kill Ferguson. Torres faces life in prison if found guilty.


Fredrick Torres appears in court Wednesday. He faces charges of attempted murder in the Jan. 1, 2016 stabbing of former coworker Glenn Ferguson at Islands of Adventure. (News 13)