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The Puzzling Death of Susann Sills | Full Episode
The full 48 Hours episode, 42 min: the case told start to finish in one sitting.
Watch on YouTubeWhat happened
Susann Sills was a 45-year-old managing partner in the fertility clinic she operated with her husband, physician Eric Scott Sills. On November 13, 2016, Eric Sills called 911 and reported finding her unresponsive at the bottom of a staircase in their San Clemente, California, home. The Orange County Sheriff's Department investigated, and medical examiners later concluded that Susann died from strangulation rather than an accidental fall.
Investigators arrested Eric Sills in April 2019, and Orange County prosecutors charged him with murder. At trial, prosecutors argued that he killed Susann and arranged the scene to resemble an accident. The defense disputed that account and argued that her death could have resulted from a fall. On December 19, 2023, a jury rejected first-degree murder but found Eric Sills guilty of second-degree murder. On March 15, 2024, the trial court sentenced him to 15 years to life in state prison. Those proceedings establish his legal responsibility for Susann's death.
On December 19, 2025, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment. The affirmance is included as the latest located appellate checkpoint, without claiming that every possible avenue of review has been exhausted. The summary uses neutral medical language and omits a wound-by-wound recital that is unnecessary to explain the conviction.
