Eric Sills: Fertility doctor sentenced to 15 years to life after he murdered wife and lied that she fell down stairs and died

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: An Orange County doctor was found guilty on Friday, March 15, of fabricating an accident in order to kill his wife.

In December 2023, Eric Scott Sills, 58, was found guilty of second-degree murder in connection with the death of his 45-year-old wife, Susann Sills, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Susann Sills's death was determined a homicide

On November 13, 2016, Eric called 911 and reported that he had found Susann's body after she seemed to have fallen down the stairs in their home in San Clemente. When homicide investigators got there, Susann had already been declared deceased.

Her death was subsequently determined to be a homicide by the Orange County Coroner. The injuries on Susann's face and neck, according to the prosecution, did not support the theory that she died after falling down the stairs.

Eric's wife died by strangulation, according to evidence that was presented during his trial. Susann, who was suffering from a migraine that night, had bloodstains on her bedroom wall and curtains.

“A clump of her hair also was found in the room, indicating that there had been a violent struggle between the couple,” court documents stated.

The OC Register reported that the son of the couple informed detectives that he had woken up that morning hearing his parents fighting in a different room.

Investigators observed that Eric appeared distant when reporting his wife's death to 911.

The couple had been married for more than a decade and worked together at the Center for Advanced Genetics, a fertility clinic located in Carlsbad. Eric was the medical director of the clinic, and co-founder Susann oversaw its operations.

The family lived in a wealthy San Clemente neighborhood. The couple were parents to twins, a boy and a girl, who were 12 years old when Susann passed away, as reported by KTLA-TV Los Angeles.

Susann Sills was strangled to death

Although the OC Register reports that there was allegedly evidence of marital issues, including a text message from Susann to her husband expressing her desire for a divorce, the motive behind the murder is still unknown, according to the prosecutor.

Jennifer Walker, a senior deputy district attorney, told the jury, "She feels like he is killing her. She is frustrated, upset, and trapped. She tells him in these texts, ‘You are killing me, don’t you see?’”

Additionally, the prosecution claimed that Eric might have been offended by a nude picture Susann had uploaded of herself in a chat room after losing a bet.

According to the OC Register, Eric's lawyer had earlier claimed that Susann's migraine medicine affected her balance that evening, causing her to fall down the stairs and sustain a spinal injury that prevented her from breathing.

On the other hand, the coroner's office indicated that Susann had been strangled to death. Eric was given a sentence of 15 years to life in prison on March 15.

“Mr. Sills not only killed his wife but he went one step further and tried to cover up his horrific crime,” said OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

Spitzer went on to say, “His actions have irreparably torn apart his family as his children have to grapple with the immeasurable pain of losing their mother at the hands of their father. This was the ultimate betrayal by their father and now he will spend his remaining days in state prison.”