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A San Clemente doctor has been charged with murder more than two years after his wife was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their home, officials announced Tuesday.

Susann Sills, 45, was found dead after an apparent fall in her home along the 10 block of Via Cancion on Nov. 13, 2016.

Eric Scott Sills, 53, is seen in an undated booking photo. (Credit: Orange County Sheriff's Department via Los Angeles Times)
Eric Scott Sills, 53, is seen in an undated booking photo. (Credit: Orange County Sheriff’s Department via Los Angeles Times)

The defendant, Eric Scott Sills, 53, said he woke up to find his wife dead, Orange County District Attorney’s Office officials said in a news release.

Homicide detectives were called to the scene to investigate because of the unknown nature of the death.

One year later, the Orange County coroner determined that Susann Sills was the victim of a homicide. Officials did not disclose a cause of death, nor did they elaborate how it was determined that the victim was killed.

The DA’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department continued to investigate the case, and a warrant was issued for the victim’s husband.

Sills was on his way to work on April 25 when he was taken into custody. He was booked on suspicion of murder and eventually posted the $1 million bail.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on May 23.

His father, James Sills, told the Orange County Register that his family is shocked by the arrest. James Sills says Susann was co-founder of a Carlsbad fertility clinic where the defendant was the medical director.

Eric Sills practiced fertilization in Europe and the United States and authored several books on the topic, the newspaper reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.