Eric Thompson guilty of murder in shooting death of his wife’s ex-lover

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Tried for a second time for the murder of Jon Tokuhara, defendant Eric Thompson was found guilty in the Honolulu courtroom of Judge Paul Wong today. Thompson immediately surrendered his personal effects and was taken into custody by state Department of Public Safety officers.

1 /4 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Tried for a second time for the murder of Jon Tokuhara, defendant Eric Thompson was found guilty in the Honolulu courtroom of Judge Paul Wong today. Thompson immediately surrendered his personal effects and was taken into custody by state Department of Public Safety officers.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Defendant Eric Thompson and his wife, Joyce, enter the courtroom before the guilty verdict was read in his murder trial today.

2 /4 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Defendant Eric Thompson and his wife, Joyce, enter the courtroom before the guilty verdict was read in his murder trial today.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Joyce Thompson, wife of defendant Eric Thompson, sobs after the announcement of the guilty verdict was read in a Honolulu courtroom today in the second-degree murder trial of her husband.

3 /4 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Joyce Thompson, wife of defendant Eric Thompson, sobs after the announcement of the guilty verdict was read in a Honolulu courtroom today in the second-degree murder trial of her husband.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Friends and family of murder victim Jon Tokuhara sob at the announcement of a guilty verdict today in the trial of Eric Thompson for fatally shooting the Waipahu acupuncturist in 2022.

4 /4 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Friends and family of murder victim Jon Tokuhara sob at the announcement of a guilty verdict today in the trial of Eric Thompson for fatally shooting the Waipahu acupuncturist in 2022.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Defendant Eric Thompson and his wife, Joyce, enter the courtroom before the guilty verdict was read in his murder trial today.

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An Oahu Circuit Court jury found Eric Thompson guilty of second-degree murder today in his second trial for the 2022 killing of his wife’s ex-lover.

The verdict was announced in court after 2 :30 p.m. The jury also found him guilty of a firearms charge.

The victim’s family and friends brushed away tears as the verdict was read and gasps were audible.

The 12 jurors deliberated over four days, starting midday Wednesday following a month-long trial, which began Jan. 21 with opening statements and evidence.

Thompson’s first trial in the summer of 2023 ended in a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

He was found guilty today in the Jan. 12, 2022, shooting death of Waipahu acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara, who had an affair with Thompson’s wife, Joyce.

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The jury was given the option of manslaughter if they found the defendant was under extreme emotional mental disturbance. Manslaughter has a maximum 20-year sentence. Second-degree murder has a penalty of life with the possibility of parole.

Judge Paul Wong thanked jurors, but told them they must report back for a hearing 9 a.m. Wednesday to hear evidence on whether Thompson should be sentenced to an extended term, which would mean life without the possibility of parole.

Deputy Prosecutor Benjamin Rose asked the judge to revoke Thompson’s bail since he faces the possibility of life with or without the possibility of parole.

Wong ordered, over the defense’s objections, that Thompson’s bail be revoked and he be taken into custody. He removed his dark suit coat and was taken into custody by deputy sheriffs.

Douglas Cabinatan Jr., a longtime friend of Tokuhara, said after the hearing, “I was happy, overjoyed. Just relief. I’m glad the jury seen what we saw.…There was no evidence of his alibi.”

Cabinatan said he believed that the DNA evidence was the most convincing.

The state’s case was based on circumstantial evidence, which included DNA analysis that found there was a high probability that the DNA from a bucket hat worn by a suspect caught on multiple surveillance videos in the area of Tokuhara’s clinic, was from Thompson. It also excluded Tokuhara’s girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend’s DNA.

The prosecution painted Thompson as a controlling husband, who exerted that control by having her sign a post-marital agreement, which would allow him to get full custody of their only child and their house, in the event of a divorce.

Surveillance footage of a truck that looked like Thompson’s 2014 Chevy Silverado was also prominently featured, leaving his home in Wailupe near Aina Haina, then in Waipahu.

The defense argued that the state’s case was full of holes, had a flawed timeline, and suggested several other possible suspects, including scorned women, the exes of Tokuhara’s girlfriend and former romantic interests.

Thompson’s attorneys suggested the shooting could have been a robbery, and they said the suspect in the bucket hat did not resemble Thompson.

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