Jul 8, 1954 - Jul 14, 2009

Shirley Jean Longstreet McGill, age 55, of Winnetka, CA. was **tragically taken from us on July 14, 2009, while on a cruise to Mexico. Shirley was born on July 8, 1954, in Salem, OR, to Francis and Betty Longstreet. Shirley worked as a Field Representative for the Department of Motor Vehicles in the Canoga Park office for 11 years and had just retired from the department. She will be remembered for her love and compassion for animals, being a proud and loving grandmother, a devoted mother, daughter, and friend, and a love of music. 

Shirley is survived by four children, Carmel Buckhout of Paradise, Noel Salazar of Hayward, CA, Paul McGill of Granada Hills, CA, and Sean McGill, also of Granada Hills; her parents, Francis and Betty Longstreet of Cave Junction, OR; and three grandchildren, Olivia, Christian, and Benjamin. A funeral service is planned for Saturday, July 25, 2009, at 10:00 AM, at the Chapel of the Pines Funeral Home in Paradise CA.. Internment will be private. 

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**Robert John McGill (CHS 1972), a 57-year-old teacher from Los Angeles, was sentenced to life in prison today by a federal judge for the 2009 murder of his wife during a cruise to Cabo San Lucas.

High school sweethearts, the couple had embarked on a five-day Mexican cruise aboard a Carnival Elation ship to celebrate McGill's 55th birthday when he apparently snapped. McGill apologized for his actions during the hearing in San Diego but neglected to explain why he beat and strangled his 55-year-old wife, Shirley, to death.

After the fatal incident on July 14, 2009, McGill told FBI investigators that he hallucinated after downing half a bottle of Mezcal and seven or eight beers. He believed the scorpion in the bottle fueled his murderous fire. He was arrested on July 16, 2009 when the ship docked in San Diego.

His story did not sit well with U.S. Chief District Judge Irma Gonzalez, who noted that McGill cleaned himself up after beating his wife in the bathroom of their cabin and then headed to the upper deck to enjoy a cigar. McGill topped off the night by also drinking beers from a bucket.

An autopsy report showed that Shirley died of blunt-force injury to her skull and brain and strangulation.

McGill pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. His defense attorney asked that his sentence total 11 years and three months, but McGill was handed a sentence for life. His motive still remains unclear.

McGill had worked for the L.A. County Office of Education since 1979 and taught at-risk teens in Canoga Park. The couple had been married for five years and lived in Winnetka.

In 2009, Robert John McGill (CHS 1972), killed his wife, Shirley (Longstreet) McGill, in their cruise ship cabin on his 55th birthday, by “strangulation and blunt force injury to the head and torso,” according to the San Diego County medical examiner’s office. Drunk at the time, according to the Huffington Post, Mr. McGill told FBI investigators that a scorpion in a bottle of Mezcal he halfway-downed (along with 7 or 8 beers) set him off.

Mr. McGill is the son of the late Robert McGill who taught English and Latin at CHS for more than 30 years, beginning at the Old School House on Indian Hill and Foothill Boulevards. News accounts state that the McGills were former high school sweethearts that reunited decades later, suggesting that Ms. McGill was also a CHS student, but the COURIER could not confirm this, though the Huffington Post stated, “They wed after reuniting shortly before their 30th high school reunion.” Mr. McGill was sentenced to life in prison last December (2011) ~ Claremont Courier, June 22, 2012

 Under arrest

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A San Fernando Valley resident who beat and strangled his wife on a cruise ship as the vessel returned to San Diego from a five-day trip to Cabo San Lucas was sentenced in federal court Thursday to life in prison.

Robert John McGill, 57, pleaded guilty in July to second-degree murder. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Irma Gonzalez.

McGill told authorities that he killed his wife Shirley with his bare hands in the bathroom of their cabin aboard the Carnival Elation.

Crew members on the 2,052-passenger ship responded to a domestic dispute shortly before 8:30 p.m. on July 14, 2009 -- the defendant's 55th birthday -- in the couple's cabin and found the victim's body.

The FBI -- which investigated because the murder occurred in international waters -- said 55-year-old Shirley McGill was killed when the ship was about three hours out of Cabo San Lucas. She'd been dead for about two hours when her body was discovered.

McGill's attorney said in court papers that his client was extremely intoxicated aboard the ship, and witnesses described the defendant as stumbling around and barely able to walk.

The McGills, married in 2003, were former high school sweethearts who got back together later in life.

The defendant, a resident of Winnetka, worked for 30 years with the Los Angeles County Office of Education teaching at-risk teenagers.