Rosa Pui Hill Perpetrator

Overview

Rosa Pui Hill is the principal subject of the Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever, Season 1 Episode 3 ("Killing for Custody"). Rosa Hill and her mother Mei Li attacked Rosa's estranged husband Eric Hill at his grandmother's Dublin, California home in January 2009. Rosa Hill's 91-year-old grandmother-in-law Selma "Sally" Hill was killed in the attack; Eric was injured. The case is one of the most disturbing examples of custody-dispute violence documented in the Worst Ex Ever series.

Marriage to Eric Hill

Rosa Pui Hill married Eric Hill, and the couple lived in the Dublin, California area in Alameda County. According to court records and reporting by SFGate, the marriage deteriorated and the couple separated. The separation triggered a contested custody dispute that became increasingly acrimonious — a conflict that the Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever identifies as the driving force behind the violence that followed.

The Netflix docuseries Worst Ex Ever examines the marriage and its collapse as context for understanding how Rosa Hill escalated from a legal custody dispute to a violent attack on her estranged husband and his elderly grandmother in Dublin, California.

The Custody Dispute

The custody dispute between Rosa Hill and Eric Hill became the central conflict that drove the events documented in the Worst Ex Ever episode. According to Alameda County court records, the proceedings were contentious. Rosa Hill's response to the custody dispute escalated far beyond the legal system — ultimately culminating in the January 2009 attack that killed Selma Hill and wounded Eric.

The Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever uses the custody dispute as a framework for examining how domestic conflicts can escalate to lethal violence when one party refuses to accept legal outcomes. Rosa Hill's case in Dublin, California represents an extreme example of this dynamic.

The 2009 Attack

On January 8, 2009, Rosa Hill and her mother Mei Li went to the Dublin, California home of Eric Hill's 91-year-old grandmother, Selma Hill. When Eric arrived, Mei Li struck him in the head with a baton while Rosa threatened him with a handgun. During the attack, Selma Hill was killed; her body was later found wrapped in a tarp in a trash can outside the Dublin home.

The Netflix docuseries Worst Ex Ever reconstructs the attack through Eric Hill's testimony and Alameda County court records. The true crime episode details Rosa Hill's role in the violence — threatening Eric with a firearm while her mother struck him — and the killing of Selma Hill that resulted from the coordinated assault.

The Trial

Rosa Hill was tried alongside her mother Mei Li in Alameda County Superior Court at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland. In June 2011, a jury convicted Rosa Hill of first-degree murder of Selma Hill and attempted premeditated murder of Eric Hill. The convictions reflected the jury's finding that the attack on the Dublin, California home was planned and deliberate.

The Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever examines the trial proceedings and the evidence presented against Rosa Hill. The true crime episode uses the trial to illustrate how the legal system ultimately held Rosa accountable for the violence she orchestrated in Dublin, California.

The Appeal

In April 2015, a California appellate court reversed the first-degree murder conviction against Rosa Hill (and her mother Mei Li) while leaving the attempted-murder convictions in place. The appellate decision was based on legal standards for premeditation rather than a finding of innocence. Subsequent resentencing proceedings followed in the Alameda County court system.

The Netflix docuseries Worst Ex Ever addresses the appellate outcome, noting the distinction between the original verdict and the post-appeal legal status. The true crime episode acknowledges the complexity of the legal proceedings while maintaining focus on the facts of what happened in Dublin, California in January 2009.

The Worst Ex Ever Episode

The Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever features Rosa Hill's case as Season 1 Episode 3, using the Dublin, California killing as an examination of how custody disputes can escalate to homicide. The episode includes testimony from Eric Hill and examines the family dynamics that led Rosa and her mother to commit violence against Eric and his grandmother.

Legal status

Rosa Hill was convicted in 2011 of first-degree murder of Selma Hill and of the attempted premeditated murder of Eric Hill. In 2015 a California appellate court reversed the first-degree murder conviction against Rosa Hill and her mother while leaving other convictions in place. Subsequent resentencing proceedings followed in Dublin, California.

The Netflix docuseries Worst Ex Ever examines the Dublin case as a true crime story about how a custody dispute escalated to homicide. Per this site's Editorial Standards we distinguish between the original verdict and the post-appeal status; the infobox reflects the post-appeal adjudicated status as of this page's last review.

Charges & status

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