Dateline NBC: Where is Eric Scott Sills now?

The 2016 murder of Susann Sills in her California home put the detectives through a three-year-long investigation, leading them to her husband, Dr. Eric Scott Sills. In November 2016, the Orange County Sheriff's Department received a call from E. Scott Sills, who reported Susann's accidental fall down the stairs in the night.

The authorities believed the crime scene to be staged, and their belief was confirmed when the cause of Susann Sills' death was determined to be strangulation. Dr. Eric Scott Sills was convicted of second-degree murder in December 2023. He is presently serving 15 years to life at the Wasco State Prison.

The Dateline NBC episode titled If These Walls Could Talk delves into the murder of Suzanne Sayles at the hands of Eric Scott Sills. It is scheduled to air on May 3, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST on NBC. The official synopsis reads,

"When you find out the real story of the staircase... It really leaves you breathless."

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Why was Eric Scott Sills arrested?

On November 13, 2016, Eric Scott Sills made a distressing call to 911, reporting his wife Susann Sill's accidental fall down the stairs. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the recorded 911 call had Scott saying,

"We’ve got a patient here who’s fallen off the stairs and I don’t have a pulse. I think she tripped because it was dark."

Dr. Sills and her wife, Susann Sills, co-founded the Center for Advanced Genetics in Carlsbad. Eric Scott Sills was a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist with over 31 years of experience in the medical field.

Susann Sills, aged 45 and a mother of twins, had been suffering from migraines the night before and had taken Valium and the opioid-based painkiller Tramadol.

She was allegedly found at the bottom of the stairs in an unresponsive state by Scott. While the emergency dispatchers advised Dr. Sills to lay her flat on the floor and perform CPR, the first responders found her with her right foot resting on the lowest stairs, as reported by Oxygen.

The autopsy report served as a key piece of evidence as it stated strangulation as the cause of Susann Sills' death and detected the presence of the drugs in her system. The Orange County Homicide Detectives found blood stains on the curtains, nightstand, and wall of Sills' daughter's bedroom - where Susann slept the previous night. There was blood on both Eric and Susann Sills' shirts.

The investigations into the case revealed marriage problems and financial issues between the couple. According to a Los Angeles Times report, Susann had uploaded a topless photo of herself as part of losing a bet that had allegedly brought in more trouble in their marriage.

The defenders in the case argued that the medication for the migraines could have led Susann Sills to disorientation and a fatal fall. The prosecutors believed that the crime scene was staged to look like one.

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Where is Eric Scott Sills now?

According to PEOPLE, Eric Scott Sills (58) was reportedly arrested on his way to work on April 25, 2019. He was initially charged with first-degree murder, but the jurors found him guilty of second-degree murder during his trial in December 2023, per NBC News.

Dr. E. Scott Sills has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and will be eligible for parole in January 2033. He is presently incarcerated at the Wasco State Prison.

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Catch all the details of the murder case on the Dateline episode that airs on May 3, 2024.