Man accused of murder on Carnival cruise ship could face death penalty
A California man accused of murdering his wife on a Carnival cruise ship last summer could face the death penalty.
The Associated Press reports an indictment unsealed Wednesday charges 55-year-old Robert McGill with first-degree murder and kidnapping for allegedly killing wife Shirley McGill in their cabin aboard the 2,056-passenger Carnival Elation. The ship was on a cruise to Mexico out of San Diego.
The U.S. attorney's office in San Diego said McGill is eligible for the death penalty because the July 14 killing occurred during a kidnapping, according to the news service.
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Court papers filed by prosecutors in October alleged Robert McGill had gotten "extremely intoxicated" in the hours leading up to the incident.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported in October that the court papers say the McGills had gone drinking on July 14 with another couple during a port call in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Just a few hours later Shirley McGill was found dead in a pool of blood in the couple's cabin.
The Union Tribune, citing court papers, said Shirley McGill's body was discovered after the other couple became worried about her. The couple allegedly had found McGill sitting on one of the ship's decks, smoking a cigar, with a bleeding hand. When they asked about his wife, he allegedly told them that she was "not OK," and later that she was dead.
"She's dead. I killed her," McGill allegedly said, according to court papers quoted in the Union Tribune. The news outlet says McGill also allegedly later confessed to the ship's doctor, chief security officer and captain, as well as the FBI.
McGill allegedly said he didn't know why he did it, telling one Carnival staffer that "life is a mystery."
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=14173.blog&csp=34
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