A man was arrested Saturday after two women were found dead inside a home in the Ojai area near Oak View, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said.
After receiving a call about a woman not breathing, deputies responded to the 100 block of Valley Ridge Drive at about 11:40 a.m. and found two women dead inside the home, authorities said.
Detectives determined that the victims had been killed and identified Shawn Shirck, 25, as the suspect in their killing, according to a sheriff’s news release.
Shirck was found and arrested shortly before 6 p.m. in the 600 block of N. Ventura Avenue in Oak View, just a short drive away from the scene, the Sheriff’s Office said.
He was booked into a Ventura jail on two felony counts of murder and his bail was set at more than $1 million, according to county inmate records.
Authorities at the scene said the discovery was concerning for neighbors, who were asking deputies what they should do. Sheriff’s Deputy Mario Molina advised them to keep their doors locked and call police if they suspect anything unusual.
“It’s not a very common thing anywhere,” Molina said. “It’s one of these things that kind of took us by surprise,”
The Sheriff’s Office described the victims as a 59-year-old Oak View woman and an 82-year-old Ellijay, Georgia woman. The county coroner has not released their names, pending their families being notified.
No further details were immediately available.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Detective Beau Rodriguez at 805-384-4723.