A San Clemente doctor in California was convicted Tuesday of murdering his wife in a staged accident in 2016.
Eric Scott Sills, 58, was found guilty on one count of second-degree murder, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
On Nov. 13, 2016, Eric called 911 and said he woke up to find his wife, 45-year-old Susann Sills’ lifeless body after she had allegedly fallen down the stairs.
Homicide detectives arrived at the scene where Susann was pronounced dead. The Orange County Coroner later determined her death was a homicide.
Prosecutors said the injuries found on Susann’s face and neck didn’t match up to the claim that she had died by falling down the stairs. Evidence presented at Eric’s trial showed that his wife died from strangulation.
Blood stains were found on their daughter’s bedroom wall and curtains where Susann was sleeping that night due to a migraine.
“A clump of her hair also was found in the room, indicating that there had been a violent struggle between the couple,” court documents said.
The couple was married for more than 10 years and worked together at a Carlsbad fertility clinic called Center for Advanced Genetics, according to the Orange County Register. Eric was the medical director and Susann, a co-founder, ran the business side of the clinic.
They had twins, a boy and a girl, who were 12 years old at the time of Susann’s death.
The motive behind the murder remains unclear, although the O.C. Register reports there was allegedly evidence of marital issues including a text to her husband saying that she “wants out,” the prosecutor said.
“She is frustrated, upset, feels trapped and feels like he is killing her,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker told jurors. “She tells him in these texts, ‘You are killing me, don’t you see?’”
Eric now faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 15.
“Dr. Sills was sworn to care for the sick and injured and his chosen profession as a fertility doctor helped bring so much joy to his patients but the woman he vowed to love in sickness and health was strangled to death by his own hands,” said O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Think of how diabolical you have to be – not only to kill your wife but to make it look like she had fallen down the stairs. It took calculated planning to commit this crime and worse of all he ruthlessly and selfishly murdered the mother of their children who now are left without their parents.”
