Kriti Mehrotra
On January 13, 2022, 47-year-old acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara was found dead inside his Waipahu office in Oahu, Hawaii, leaving his community baffled to the core. NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Bucket Hat Mystery’ explores how a .22 caliber weapon had been used to fire four bullets to his face at close range, making it clear the crime was “personal.” However, it wasn’t until early 2025 that the courts positively ascertained that Eric Thompson was the perpetrator, with his motive being revenge for the affair the former had with his wife.
Joyce Thompson Had Reportedly Shown Remorse For Her Infidelity
Joyce Thompson first met Eric Thompson in high school. According to records, the Honolulu natives were high school sweethearts who fell head over heels in love while they were mere teenagers before waiting 13 years to tie the knot. January 14, 2017, is when they reportedly said “I do” while surrounded by their closest friends and family in a beautiful ceremony by the beach, before settling down in the wondrous state of Oahu. According to the records, by this point, Eric was a successful businessman who had even purchased Joyce’s dream home, a $2.15 million property in an affluent neighborhood, so they were ready to start a family. That’s when a friend recommended them to acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara, resulting in the entrepreneur having one session with him for some pain, and his wife starting a fertility treatment.
It has been reported that while Joyce was initially just a patient, one thing soon led to another, and she started having a steamy short-term affair with the elder healthcare practitioner. Eric was reportedly unaware of their involvement until July 2021, when he discovered messages between Joyce and Jon on her cellphone, which “shocked” him because they had seemed happy. In fact, they had recently even celebrated their only daughter’s first birthday, making him go from sad to pissed in a short period. However, he has always maintained that he never got physical with his wife. During his testimony, he asserted that because Joyce showed genuine remorse to him in the months to follow, he chose to stay and work on their marriage instead of getting a divorce.
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Joyce Thompson Has Never Spoken About the Ordeal and Prefers to Lead a Quiet Life
According to court records, Eric was arrested in connection with Jon’s murder on February 14, 2022, based on DNA, surveillance footage, and circumstantial evidence involving Joyce. He was reportedly so angry with his wife that he not only made her apologize after confirming she had broken things off with Jon but also had her confess her straying to her parents. Then, in the middle of the holiday season on December 29, 2021, they signed a post-nuptial agreement stating that if they ever got divorced, he would get all assets, the house, and sole custody of their daughter.
During Eric’s second trial in early 2025 – the first one had ended in a mistrial in 2023 – the prosecution painted him as a controlling, jealous husband who couldn’t handle Joyce straying. They asserted he was still upset about the affair based on the timing of the post-nuptial agreement and the note they found on his wife’s desk while executing a search warrant. The former referred to the fact that Jon was killed two weeks after the couple signed the documents, whereas the latter referred to a note reading, “an unfaithful spouse will not show remorse.” The defense tried to maintain that Joyce herself had presented her husband with the idea of the agreement in August 2021 as a sign of remorse. Yet, the prosecutors questioned why she would offer to “give up her motherhood” after working so hard to have their baby.
The state then went further to allege that they believed Joyce was coerced into signing the post-nuptial documents as a means to silence her. They claimed that Eric knew she wouldn’t divorce him and risk losing everything, so she would also remain under spousal protection. This protection is a privilege that prevents a spouse from being forced to testify against their significant other in legal proceedings, and Joyce seemingly took advantage of it. In other words, she didn’t testify during either of Eric’s trials, but she made her stance clear by attending every hearing and sitting behind her husband to show her support. Therefore, since his conviction and sentencing in early 2025, she has preferred to keep a low profile to focus on raising their now 5-year-old daughter by herself. It’s imperative to note that Joyce and Eric still remain married.
