Crime scene photos revealed in trial of man accused of killing acupuncturist
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Jurors saw grisly crime scene photos Thursday during the second day of a murder trial for the man accused of killing his wife’s lover.
Prosecutors presented evidence Thursday showing Eric Thompson is responsible for killing Jon Tokuhara at his Waipahu acupuncture clinic.
Meanwhile, the defense questioned the police work surrounding the investigation.
Jurors were presented with photos of the crime scene when officers were called to Tokuhara’s clinic in January 2022. That evidence included photos of Tokuhara’s body on the floor of his office with gunshot wounds.
At trial, mother of murdered acupuncturist describes finding her son’s body
HPD evidence specialist Garrick Baligad also took the stand, saying investigators initially found only one shell casing near Tokuhara’s body.
They later discovered more nearby during the course of the investigation.
HPD officer John Mintern, meanwhile, testified he was the first to respond to the scene after Tokuhara’s mother called police when she discovered his body.
“There was bleeding from his ears,” Mintern explained. “There was a large pool of blood he was laying in.”
Prosecutors say Thompson shot Tokuhara four times in the face because he previously had an affair with his wife.
Thompson’s lawyer is arguing the man caught on surveillance video is someone else.
The defense also tried to point out flaws in HPD’s investigation, saying the responding officer turned off his body worn camera while at the scene and also failed to report a potential conflict of interest as one of the officers was friends with Tokuhara.
“You never noted in your report anything about Officer Ancheta being at the scene and being John’s good friend?” asked defense attorney David Hayakawa.
“No sir, I did not,” answered Mintern.
The man who owned a business right next to Tokuhara’s clinic also testified and through an interpreter said he did not notice anything unusual or suspicious the night of the murder.
Thompson has been on house arrest since posting $1 million bail.
The trial resumes Friday morning.
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