An Orange County doctor was sentenced Friday for murdering his wife in a staged accident. In December 2023, Eric Scott Sills, 58, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Susann Sills, 45, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. On Nov. 13, 2016, Eric called 911 and said he awoke to find Susann's lifeless body after she had allegedly fallen down the stairs.  Homicide detectives arrived at the scene where Susann was pronounced dead. The Orange County Coroner later determined her death was a homicide. Prosecutors said the injuries found on Susann ..read more

San Clemente officials are concerned as they prepare for an incoming rainstorm and the possibility of destructive landslides this weekend. City officials have spent millions to restore and strengthen the hillside beneath the historic Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens after a large portion of the cliffside collapsed back in April and June 2023. All day Friday, crews were setting up tarps and sandbags to protect the historic property from further rainfall and landslide damage. “What we’re doing to the hillside here, which slipped and had a landslide last year, is to put that plastic tar ..read more

Whale watchers off the Palos Verdes Peninsula were treated to a rare sight on Monday when they spotted a pod of orcas. Harbor Breeze Cruises posted photos on Facebook and said this was their first sighting of orcas in about two years. This pod of a dozen or so orcas, which the Orange County Register reported "typically spend time off Mexico traveled up to Southern California," also included a pair of calves when spotted on a trip that departed at noon, according to Harbor Breeze. A pod of about a dozen orcas was spotted off the Southern California coast on Dec. 11, 2023. (Harbor Breeze Cruis ..read more

Beaches in San Clemente will be closing up two hours early from now on amid growing public safety concerns.  The change was approved Tuesday and went into effect Wednesday night. However, it won’t be enforced until signs are officially posted at the beach.  A unanimous city council vote approved the rule following a May 26 assault involving three Marines being beaten by a crowd of teenagers at the San Clemente Pier. The move addresses ongoing concerns over increasing public safety issues at the beach and nearby downtown areas. Officials also approved the hiring of more private securi ..read more

Rail service has once again been halted after land under the historic Casa Romantica in San Clemente continued to slide Monday morning. The slide occurred sometime between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan told KTLA. There was significant movement on the slope and boulders and rocks remained on the tracks in the 10 a.m. hour, the mayor added. Train service has been interrupted as a result and tracks near the San Clemente Pier are closed. More land slid down the cliffside of Casa Romantica in San Clemente on June 5, 2023. (KTLA) Workers survey the land under Casa Romantica fo ..read more

The hillside under a historic building in San Clemente collapsed early Thursday, affecting train traffic in the area. Dirt and debris could be seen coming down the hillside below Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, located at 415 Avenida Granada. The house, which sits on a bluff just north San Clemente Pier, had already suffered cracks to its terrace, but things got much worse overnight. The collapse occurred around 1 p.m., and some of the debris that came down landed close to train tracks in the area that had just reopened earlier this month ..read more

The United States Coast Guard captured 15 undocumented migrants attempting to enter the United States in Orange County on Thursday, officials said. The USCG cutter Forrest Rednour spotted an overloaded 36-foot sportfishing boat headed north near San Clemente at around 4:30 p.m., the Coast Guard said in a news release. After following the boat for about four hours, the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted it off the Orange County coast. Despite initial estimates of eight to 12 people aboard, the USCG found 15 people claiming to be Mexican nationals on the boat, the rel ..read more

School administration officials are investigating allegations of racist taunting during a football game over the weekend, according to the Orange County Register. The incident occurred during a game between San Clemente and Mission Viejo high schools in San Clemente on Friday, according to the newspaper. Mission Viejo football players were allegedly subjected to racist comments during the game, though the details of the comments are unknown. The Capistrano and Saddleback Valley unified school districts both told the newspaper that officials are investigating the matter ..read more

A Marine Corps battalion commander testified Friday that in retrospect he would have halted the exercise that killed nine of his Marines whose amphibious assault vehicle sank off the Southern California coast but at the time he did not have accurate information to make such a decision. Lt. Col. Michael J. Regner said his decisions were based in part on what other commanders told him, including that all the Marines had completed their swim certifications and that the aging vehicles they were in had been fixed and were ready for the mission. He said he was also unaware that the Navy had changed ..read more

Two injured mountain bikers were airlifted from a San Clemente trail after crashing on Friday afternoon. The two men were riding their mountain bikes on a single track when they crashed, Orange County Fire Authority Fire Capt. Greg Barta said. The pair were on a steep trail called 6 Kids No Brains when the collision happened, and they had to be hoisted to two different helicopters and transported as trauma patients to the hospital, Barta said. Authorities did not provide an update on the conditions of the mountain bikers, or what caused the collision. Chip Yost reports for the KTLA 5 News on J ..read more