Doctor who murdered wife then staged a fall from stairs

Did a fight over topless photo turn Eric Scott Sills into a killer?

- GAIL SHORTLAND

Husband and wife team Eric Scott and Susann Sills founded a fertility clinic in Carlsbad, California, specialising in IVF and recurrent pregnant loss. Eric Sills built a respected reputation as head of medical operations, and Susann, 45, was the managing partner, who did everything from nursing to working on the reception desk. The couple had been married for 10 years and had built a life together.

By 2016, their business had enabled them to buy a £1million luxury home in upscale San Clemente, California, which they shared with their 12-year-old twins, a son and a daughter. Sills also had two older children from a previous relationship.

On 13 November 2016, Sills made a frantic 911 call. “We’ve got a patient here who’s fallen off the stairs and I don’t have a pulse,” he told the dispatcher. “I think she tripped because it was dark.”

Sills was referring to his wife. He explained that he had woken up and discovered Susann at the bottom of the staircase in their home.

First responders raced to the scene, but Susann was dead. Her two young children were distraught, and Sills had seemingly lost his wife to a tragic accident.

Sills explained that Susann had been suffering with a migraine for a couple of days. She hadn’t been eating and had been taking medication. Had that combination made her dizzy and, after losing her footing, had she gone tumbling down the stairs? The police weren’t so sure.

Officers noted at the time that the scene looked staged and felt that Sills referring to Susann as “a patient” on the 911 call was unusually cold. Further investigation at the house showed some more disturbing evidence.