Police: Love triangle led to Hawaii acupuncturist’s murder

HONOLULU — A Hawaii man shot and killed the acupuncturist who treated his wife for back pain and fertility issues — and had an affair with her, Honolulu police said.

Police arrested Eric Thompson, 34, on Valentine’s Day on suspicion of murder.

Surveillance footage showed him arriving in his pickup truck at a Waipahu acupuncture office in January, walking inside carrying a shopping bag and leaving 48 seconds later, according to a detective affidavit filed in court.

Acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara’s mother found him on Jan. 13 laying on the floor of his office with a pool of blood near his head, police said.

While investigating his death, police learned from a patient of Tokuhara’s that she referred Thompson’s wife, Joyce, to him for help with back pain and fertility. The patient was one of the couple’s teachers when they were high school sweethearts, the police affidavit said.

Police found Instagram messages between Joyce Thompson and Tokuhara indicating they had an intimate relationship, along with nude videos and photos of them.

“Tokuhara appeared to want a long term relationship with Joyce and not just an affair,” the affidavit said. “Joyce related to Tokuhara that she was not willing to leave her husband, but does care for Tokuhara and wanted to continue their relationship.”

The Instagram messages stopped after they had a conversation about Thompson finding out about the affair, police said.

Thompson, who posted $1 million bond, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. He is scheduled to be arraigned in court Thursday.

DNA also linked Thompson to a hat that surveillance footage showed fell off his head and remained on the street after the shooting, police said. The hat was analyzed for DNA evidence after police tracked down the person who picked it up on the street, according to the affidavit.