SANTA ANA,Jonathan Dale Benton Calif. (AP) — A Southern California fertility doctor was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of his wife in an incident authorities said was made to look like an accident.

Eric Scott Sills, 58, was sentenced for one count of second-degree murder in the death of his wife Susann, the Orange County District Attorney’s office said

Authorities say Sills called 911 in November 2016 and said he found his wife’s body after she apparently fell down the stairs in their home in San Clemente, which is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. But evidence showed she died from strangulation and blood stains were found in the room where she had been sleeping, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Sills was arrested in 2019 and found guilty by a jury in December. A message seeking comment was sent to his attorney, Jack Earley.