Ventura jury convicts Shawn Michael Shirck of involuntary manslaughter in 2019 double killing

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced on Friday that Shawn Michael Shirck was convicted by jury of two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the 2019 deaths of Margaret Dahl of Oak View and Phyllis Porter of Georgia.

The jury also found true the special allegation that Shirck used a knife to commit his crimes.

Porter, 82, was on an extended visit with her daughter, Dahl, 59, at Dahls residence at the time on Valley Ridge Street in Oak View in 2019.

Dahl had been in a long-term relationship with the homeowner and cared for the home while he was away. The homeowner had four sons, including Shawn Shirck.

Shirck had previously lived at the residence, but had moved out weeks earlier.

Shortly after midnight on Aug. 24, 2019, Shirck violently attacked and killed both women with a knife inside of the home in Oak View.

The bodies of the two women were discovered later that morning by one of Shirck's brothers.

Shawn Shirck was arrested by Ventura County Sheriff's Office on Aug. 25, 2019.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Nguyen, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Major Crimes Homicide Unit, was the prosecutor who handled the case.

Shirck is scheduled for sentencing on Jun. 20 of this year in courtroom 48 of Ventura County Superior Court.