Kriti Mehrotra
When renowned acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara was shot to death inside his office on January 12, 2022, it left his entire community in Waipahu, Hawaii, shaken to the very core. That’s because, as explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Bucket Hat Mystery,’ the 47-year-old was killed in a very “personal” manner despite his high standing in society as a caring, loving man. It took some time, but it has since been ascertained that the perpetrator was a man whose wife he had had an illicit affair with until the summer of 2021, entrepreneur Eric Thompson.
Eric Thompson Hails From Very Humble Beginnings
A native of Hawaii, Eric Thompson hails from a single-parent household with barely enough money to make ends meet, let alone cover all the repairs required in their old Kaimuki home. He thus reportedly realized at an early age that he wanted to be more and do better upon growing up because he wanted to provide for not only his beloved mother but also his future family. Therefore, upon graduating from a public high school, he enrolled in college to pursue a Bachelor’s in Biology, yet it took him five years to earn his degree as he worked throughout.
Eric subsequently kick-started his career in the same field before ultimately shifting gears to establish his own successful empire with a lucrative, high-end bathtub renovation business. His idea was actually such a hit that by the time the mid-2010s rolled around, he was able to purchase his wife Joyce Thompson’s dream $2.15 million home without any issues. He even backed his spouse’s lifestyle as he had once hoped to do long ago, including her many psychic consultations as well as acupuncture fertility treatments that started back in 2017.
Eric Thompson’s Anger Over His Wife’s Infidelity Was Allegedly Persistent
According to records, Joyce visited acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara for her fertility treatments, but their client-patient dynamic soon transformed into a full-fledged romantic relationship. It was in July 2021 that her husband allegedly found out about the affair, which angered him deeply, considering they had recently celebrated the first birthday of their only daughter, Emma. What reportedly ensued were fights and negotiations, resulting in Eric making her apologize, confess to her parents, and forever forbid her from consulting any psychics.
Furthermore, in the aftermath of this situation, Eric and Joyce signed a post-nuptial agreement stating that if they were to ever get divorced, he would get everything. Whether it be their family home, other cash or jewelry-based assets, or sole custody of their daughter Emma, the documents made it clear he would be getting it all. The couple actually signed these papers in the middle of the holiday season on December 29, 2021, approximately two weeks before Jon was found shot to death. These aspects, along with other circumstantial evidence and a note on Joyce’s desk indicating Eric was still upset about the affair, led to his February 14, 2022, arrest.
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Eric Thompson is Currently Incarcerated in a State Prison
Although Eric posted his $1 million bail shortly after he was taken into custody on the charge of murder, he didn’t have any freedom since he was placed on house arrest. He first stood trial in 2023, but it was declared a mistrial on August 9 because the jury couldn’t come to a unanimous decision even after three days of deliberations. That’s when his bail was revoked, with the judge stating he no longer fell under the presumption of innocence, so he remained in detention until his retrial in early 2025. His defense once again tried to raise doubts in the minds of jurors by arguing there were a variety of other possible suspects for Jon’s homicide, but to no avail.
The prosecutors asserted that Eric was the only one with any motive to kill the acupuncturist, painting a picture of him as a controlling and jealous husband who couldn’t handle his wife straying. According to court records, the note on Joyce’s desk read “an unfaithful spouse will not show remorse,” which they claimed was a clear sign that he was still upset over the affair, so he sought revenge. They further added that the post-nuptial agreement also seemed like a way for him to silence Joyce, since she could not be forced to testify as his wife, even though Jon was killed merely two weeks after they signed the papers.
The defense argued that Joyce herself had suggested the agreement in August 2021 as a sign of remorse, but they questioned why she would “give up her motherhood” after trying so hard to have a baby. The prosecution further presented surveillance footage as evidence, suggesting that the man seen walking near Jon’s office on the fateful day was Eric, based on his gait, vehicle, and clothing. They added that the alibi he had provided could not be corroborated, and the DNA recovered from the white bucket hat worn by the man in the video was also 16.4 trillion times more likely to be his than anyone else’s.
Moreover, the fact that Eric owned several guns and knew how to shoot didn’t help his case either because Jon was shot 4 times in the face at close range by a .22 caliber weapon, making it clear the motive was “personal.” Thus, following a day of deliberations, the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and use or possession of a firearm, for which he was later sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years. So, today, he is incarcerated at the medium-security Halawa Correctional Facility in Oahu in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he is expected to remain until at least the late 2030s, when he will become eligible for parole. As per his sentence, with credit for time served, he must serve a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison before he becomes eligible for parole.
