Naman Shrestha
Police received a frantic call from the husband of Susann Sills in November 2016 informing them that she had been found dead at the bottom of their home. The tragedy shook the entire community to its core while her loved ones, including family members and friends, were taken aback and grieved for the loss. All this is clearly showcased in NBC’s ‘Dateline: If These Walls Could Talk,’ which not only delves deep into the murder case but also includes exclusive interviews with the victim’s close ones.
Susann Sills Was Found Dead At the Bottom of the Stairs of Her House
Susann Stephanie Arsuaga Sills came into the world of Theresa Linda (Lucchese) Neubauer and Miguel José Arsuaga as a little bundle of joy on July 30, 1971. Although born in Philadelphia, while growing up with three siblings, two brothers named Peter Dean Arsuaga of New Orleans and Frank Hewitt Gaulden of Jacksonville, and a sister named Jennifer Marie Arsuaga of Orlando, she went to study at South Fork High School in Florida and graduated with flying colors in 1989.
For higher studies, Susann enrolled in George Mason University before joining the University of Miami, from where she earned her MBA degree in International Studies in 2000. Soon, she met with Eric Scott Sills and instantaneously, there was a spark between the two. Not long after, they started dating as they were head over heels in love with each other. Next, she co-founded the Center for Advanced Genetics, the IVF & infertility practice located in Carlsbad, California, where she also served as managing partner while her partner Eric was the medical director.
In the early 2000s, Susann and Eric made their relationship official in the eyes of the law by exchanging sacred vows and getting married. Living in an upscale San Clemente neighborhood, the couple gave birth to twins – a girl whom they named Mary-Katherine Estelle Sills and a boy whom they called Eric Scott Sills II. After becoming a mother, she took on the responsibility of her kids and raised them with utmost love and care. Known to be a loving mother, Susann did not have any idea that her time with her family was limited. On the fateful morning of November 13, 2016, the mother of two was found dead at the bottom of the stairs of her San Clemente house.
When the investigators arrived at the scene, they found out that Susann did not have any pulse left and declared her dead. At first, her death was considered an accident in the dark. But when the detectives searched the house for evidence, they noticed blood stains on her daughter’s bedroom walls and curtains, where Susann slept that night as she was having a bad case of migraine. It took about a year for the police to come to the conclusion that Susann’s death was not an accident but a homicide. In November 2017, it was found out that she died of strangulation.
A Heated Argument With a Close One Led to Susann Sills’ Demise
After the police were done inspecting the crime scene, they turned to the victim’s family members and friends in an attempt to paint a clearer picture of her life and the circumstances under which she met her demise. When the investigators interviewed her 12-year-old son, he claimed that his sleep was disturbed by the loud argument that occurred between his parents in another room. This made the authorities turn their focus on Eric Scott Sills, a person of interest and a potential suspect.
Soon, the investigators also learned that the couple had a few issues that needed resolving, which led to some serious strains in their marriage. This could be seen in a few messages that they exchanged with each other, just around the time of Susann’s death. As per reports, she wrote to him, “I will never be free, ever. You are killing me, don’t you see? …I just want out.” It was alleged that one of the primary reasons for the developing animosity between them was a topless photo that Susann had posted on social media after losing a bet.
While Eric claimed that he found his wife at the bottom of the stairs after she fell down the stairs, the police learned that the truth was far from it. Soon, as they found out that it was a homicide, the police began working to collect incriminating evidence against Eric and in April 2019, they finally arrested him while he was on his way to work and charged him with the murder of Susann. During his trial, the defense argued that she was suffering from migraine, was weak, and took Valium for the pain around the time of her death, and all those factors might have caused her to lose her balance and fall down the stairs.
In counter, the prosecution presented several pieces of evidence against Eric in front of the jury, including the fact that Susann’s facial condition did not appear to have been caused by falling down the stairs. Moreover, a few strands of her hair were collected from the room where she had been sleeping on the fateful night, indicating that the couple was involved in an argument that had gotten physical. In light of all the evidence, the jury returned with a guilty verdict for Eric Scott Sills in December 2023 and convicted him of one count of second-degree murder of his wife and business partner, Susann Sills.
A few months later, on March 15, 2024, the 58-year-old fertility doctor was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering his 45-year-old wife and making it appear like an accident. Susann’s brother, Frank Gaulden, expressed his disapproval of the 15-year sentence and said, “Given the life sentence that we all have to suffer in our own ways, I believe that when it’s compared to the sentence Sills faces, it seems insufficient. But it is what it is.”
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