SAN DIEGO - A detention hearing is scheduled Thursday for a Los Angeles County man accused of fatally beating his wife on a cruise ship as it returned to San Diego from a five-day trip to Cabo San Lucas.
Robert McGill, 55, of Winnetka in the San Fernando Valley, allegedly beat and strangled his wife, Shirley, also 55, in the bathroom of their cabin on the cruise ship Carnival Elation.
She died of blunt force injuries to the head and strangulation, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to a murder charge on July 17 and was ordered held without bail. Magistrate Judge William McCurine Jr. is expected to review that status tomorrow.
Crew members on the 2,052-passenger ship responded to a domestic dispute shortly before 8:30 p.m. July 14 -- which was the defendant's birthday -- in the couple's cabin and found the woman's body.
In a probable cause statement filed with the criminal complaint, FBI Special Agent James Stinnett said McGill "stated he killed his wife in the bathroom of their cabin with his bare hands."
The defendant's knuckles looked like he'd been in a fight, according to Stinnett.
McGill was held in the brig of the San Diego-based ship during the rest of the trip from Cabo San Lucas, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter.
McGill tried to speak during his initial court appearance on July 17, but was immediately surrounded by two defense attorneys who urged him not to say anything.
For a while, he appeared adamant about saying something to a group of about 20 people in the gallery.
"I think they're suffering now and they need to hear from me," McGill was overheard saying. He also said something about a financial burden placed on the family on top of the emotional pain.
San Diego 6 News reporter Jeff Powers attended the hearing and clearly heard the defendant say multiple times, "I did it."
Shirley McGill was slain when the ship was about three hours out of Cabo San Lucas, Slotter said. According to Stinnett, she was dead about two hours before her body was found.
Because the murder occurred in international waters, the investigation is being handled by the FBI, Stinnett said.
McGill spent 30 years teaching at-risk teens for the Los Angeles County Office of Education, according to the Woodland Hills-based Daily News.
His wife retired earlier this month from a job at the Department of Motor Vehicles, according to the newspaper.
Neighbor Shocked
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The neighbor of a Los Angeles man accused of killing his wife onboard a cruise to Mexico says he's shocked to hear the allegations. Michael Hougardy says the couple, "never said anything negative about each other."
Hougardy tells The Associated Press that Robert McGill was excited about leaving on the Mexican cruise. The veteran Los Angeles County schoolteacher is accused of killing his wife on his 55th birthday during a domestic dispute.
Crew members found Shirley McGill's body in her cabin Tuesday and placed her husband in the brig as the ship sailed home. It arrived yesterday, and McGill was jailed in San Diego.
The McGills were married in 2003. A teacher at the school where he taught tells the Daily News of Los Angeles that Shirley was Robert McGill's "childhood sweetheart." Colleagues say he had reconnected with her through the Internet.
Acquaintances say Shirley McGill retired last week from the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
Murder on the High Seas
SAN DIEGO - The FBI says it's a case of murder on the high seas. A cruise to Cabo San Lucas turns deadly for a Los Angeles County woman just days after her 55th Birthday. Her husband Robert McGill is now charged with Shirley McGill's murder.
The 2,052-passenger Carnival Elation was on the last leg of a five-day trip to Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday when members of the ship's crew responded to a domestic dispute in the couple's cabin and found the body of Shirley McGill, 55, of the Los Angeles County city of Winnetka.
Investigators say her body was found in her cabin after another traveler tipped off security there could be a problem. Travelers staying on the same floor describe what they saw.
"Nine or ten people came rushing down. Security guards, probably --a medical crew -- and you just see them gloving, getting ready to go in," says passenger Heather Bird.
Investigators say McGill's body was found Tuesday evening, but her husband was not in the cabin at the time. Once the security guards found him he was put in the brig on board the ship.
Travelers say rumors began to spread about what happened.
"They told me some guy murdered his wife and then went to dinner like nothing ever happened," says passenger Robert Bostic.
Investigators say around 8 o'clock on Wednesday night almost two dozen FBI agents traveled out to sea on board a Coast Guard cutter to meet up with the Elation to begin the investigation.
Investigators say it wasn't immediately clear what caused Mrs. McGill's death, but an autopsy is scheduled for Friday to determine what happened.
Once the Elation docked in San Diego more FBI investigators boarded the ship to collect evidence in the case and Mrs. McGill's body was removed.
"They had a gurney -- they were wheeling in a bag -- a red bag," says Bostic.
A Carnival "care team" offered help to anyone traumatized by the incident, according to the cruise line, which also stated that its staff's "thoughts and prayers go out to the victim's family."
A former attorney for Mr. McGill says she is completely shocked by the news of his arrest for murder and surprised.
McGill is scheduled to be arraigned in Federal Court on Friday.
