Forty-one-year-old Eric Tamiyasu expected to live many years in the home he had recently finished building next to his fruit orchard business on the outskirts of his native Hood River, Oregon, sixty miles northeast of Portland. Shortly afterwards, on the afternoon of June 30, 2001, however, he was found shot to death in his new abode. The advanced decomposing state of his body suggested he had been dead for several days. His murder remains unsolved.
Three acquaintances of the slain businessman were deemed persons of interest. In recent years, however, authorities announced another suspect, seemingly suggesting that, for nearly the last quarter-century, they have been barking up the wrong tree in the murder of the orchard owner.
Eric Tamiyasu
Eric was found naked and dead in his bed by his friend and business consultant, Don Dixon, who had gone to Eric’s home to check on him after he had not been seen or heard from for five days.
Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler says Eric’s mattresses had been permanently stained by bodily fluids due to advanced decomposition.
Eric’s Bed
As nothing suggesting foul play was initially found, and believing Eric had either died naturally or taken his life after Don told him Eric had recently been depressed, the sheriff asked Don to burn the ruined bedding and box spring on the burn pile on Eric’s property to spare the family further grief. Don did so the following morning despite having second thoughts upon viewing the items intact without any samples having been taken.
Hood River County investigators dispute this, saying samples were collected before the bed was burned.
Left: Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler
Right: Don Dixon
Later that day, Oregon State Medical Examiner Dr. Karen Gunson ruled Eric Tamiyasu’s death a homicide after an autopsy found three .22-caliber bullets lodged in the back of his head. He had been shot execution style while sleeping, probably four-to-five days before being found, and the advanced state of decomposition had hidden the wounds.
The gun was not found.
Eric Had Been Murdered
Sheriff Wampler’s decision to burn the bed would have been suspicious even if Eric’s death had been a suicide or an accident. With the finding of foul play, it looked like a cover up, and a motive for his wanting to destroy potential evidence was soon learned.
Don says shortly before Eric’s death, he told him of his relationship with an older Polynesian woman, a description fit by the wife of the county’s top lawman. I could not find anything about Sheriff Wampler’s wife confirming or denying an extramarital fling.
Joe Wampler
Hood River County Sheriff
Don Dixon also believes Eric Smith, Eric Tamiyasu’s lifelong friend and business partner, is a potential suspect.
The three men’s business offices were in the same building, and Don says he overheard portions of a heated argument between the two Erics several days before the murder. Afterward, Don contends Eric Tamiyasu told him Eric Smith owed him between $50,000-$60,000.
Eric Smith
Don believes the argument stemmed from the men’s previous short-lived joint business of selling used cars, but investigators say each Eric invested roughly only $10,000-$20,000 in their failed endeavor.
Eric Smith says no such argument between him and Eric Tamiyasu had occurred and contends that neither owed the other any money.
Did The Erics Argue?
After no signs of forced entry were found into Eric Tamiyasu’s home, suspicion was also cast on Don Dixon, who had entered with a spare key he says Eric had given him. (A June 2002 article in The Oregonian says he instead entered the home upon finding a back door unlocked.)
Immediately after calling the police upon finding Eric’s body, Don called Eric’s sister, Ramona. She thought it strange that Don had mentioned not seeing any “exit wounds” on Eric because it was not yet known he had been shot to death. Don says he made the statement because of his initial fear that Eric may have committed suicide.
Don claimed to be one of Eric Tamiyasu’s closest friends, but Eric Smith says the slain Eric had told him Don was merely an acquaintance from whom he bought fruit spray, and that he was unknown to most of his inner circle.
Don initially declined to take a polygraph test administered by the Hood River County Sheriff’s Department. He later agreed to do so, but several attempts to get an accurate “baseline” readout for him failed. Prior to administering the actual test, examiners perform a baseline test by asking several routine questions to program the subject’s physiological makeup into the polygraph machine.
Don took an independently administered polygraph test in early 2002. The Sheriff’s Department says the results were inconclusive due to medication he was taking for a kidney transplant he had had in December 2001.
Suspicion Falls On Don
Sheriff Joe Wampler and Eric Smith each passed polygraph tests given by the Hood River County Sheriff’s Department.
Polygraphs Passed
In recent years, a new potential suspect has emerged in the murder of Eric Tamiyasu. Unlike the three aforementioned men, this publicly unidentified man does not appear to have had a previous connection to the victim.
A New Person Of Interest
In Eric’s Murder
Eric was last seen on the evening of June 25, five days before his body was found. That evening, he and Diana Anderson were at his home, enjoying their first date until they heard tapping noises on the window at approximately 11:00. Shortly thereafter, the doorbell rang two times; each time no one was there when Eric answered, but they could hear someone running away in the darkness. They also noticed a shoe print in the dirt, but the rain had washed it away by the time Eric’s body was found. Diana left shortly after the second incident.
Police suspect Diana’s former boyfriend may have committed the acts of nuisance because of his previous “stalking-like behavior.” Because Eric was believed to have been killed shortly thereafter, they have also proclaimed him a person of interest in his murder.
Diana was cleared of involvement in Eric’s murder.
Diana Anderson
Eric Tamiyasu’s killer is believed to have known of his house’s remoteness and layout. Because no items were determined missing from the home, robbery was ruled out as a motive for his murder.
Eric’s Home
If you have information relating to the murder of Eric Tamiyasu, please call the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office at 541-386-2098.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8080218/eric_m-tamiyasu
Who Killed Eric?
The orchard business run by Eric Tamiyasu has been operated by his family for three generations, beginning in 1910. Currently run by Ramona and her husband, Tom Garofalo, Tamiyasu Orchards now produces organic fruits.
Ramona Tamiyasu Carries On The Family Business
SOURCES:
- Columbia Gorge News, Hood River, Oregon
- KOIN CBS Affiliate Channel 6 Portland, Oregon
- The Oregonian
- Unsolved Mysteries
rumor back then . you dont Fuck Nother Man’s wife? ask Walmpler that , but all stand Round and pass it , three in the slinder spin it ? why did they despose of the matress ? sex fuilds , and it wasnt a circle jerk