/random/ - random★

According to Don, the request wasn’t inappropriate:

“And I said, ’If it’ll help the family, I would be happy to do what I can to assist.’”

A boots footprint in mud

Rain washed away the killer’s footprints

The following morning, Dixon set fire to the soiled bedding from Eric’s room. When he was done, there was nothing left but a metal frame and a pile of ashes. The next day during Eric’s autopsy, investigators were shocked to find three small-caliber bullets lodged in his head. What at first had seemed like a natural death was now a homicide investigation.

To those who knew him, Eric Tamiyasu didn’t seem to have an enemy in the world, so no one had assumed foul play. The decomposition of the body had disguised the exact cause of his death. And the most important piece of evidence, the bed, had gone up in smoke.

Sheriff Wampler suddenly had to defend the burning of evidence:

“Based on the lack of evidence, that this was gonna turn into a criminal case, it was my decision to burn the bed. It was my decision at that time because the family, they might just actually appreciate not having to go through the trauma of viewing the horrid things that were left behind.”

However, could Sheriff Wampler have had a personal, more sinister motive for destroying the evidence? A possible answer may have come up in a conversation Don Dixon said he had with Eric regarding a new romantic relationship:

“This Polynesian woman, described as older than he was, and the rumor mill has, that the Sheriff’s wife is Polynesian and older than Eric. But that could be purely coincidental.”

Sheriff Wampler has said there’s no truth to the story:

“I’ve heard a rumor that my wife was having an affair with Mr. Tamiyasu, and out of retaliation for that, then I went up there and did these things, and then even went to the trouble of destroying the evidence, burning the bed and all that stuff. All I can say is they’re looking in the wrong direction.”

If Sheriff Wampler had nothing to do with the murder, then who did? A second potential suspect is Eric Smith, Eric Tamiyasu’s lifelong friend. Don Dixon said that he overheard an intense argument between the two Erics just a few days before the murder:

“He and Eric Smith had been in business together and Eric Tamiyasu felt that Eric was pocketing money. And that he owed him between fifty and sixty thousand.”

According to Don, Eric Tamiyasu was quite upset after the argument:

“I asked him if he was okay, if everything was all right. He said, ‘That son-of-a-bitch,’ and he got into his car, and that’s the last words that I heard from Eric Tamiyasu.”

Eric Smith said Don’s entire story is nonsense:

“I can tell you flat out for a fact, Eric and I did not have an argument. Eric didn’t owe me money, I didn’t owe him money. Don lives in a fantasy world.”

Eric Tamiyasu and Eric Smith had a side business together selling used cars. But Police Sgt. Gerry Tiffany believed that there was much less money involved than Don Dixon had said:

“When I checked into the business dealings with Eric Smith and Eric Tamiyasu, we found out they both invested the same amount of money, which was probably $15,000, to start this business, not fifty or sixty thousand. And, it kind of went downhill and then it had to go out of business.”

So who else had a reason to kill Eric Tamiyasu? Potential suspect #3: Don Dixon, the man who discovered the body. It was Don who notified Eric’s sister of her brother’s death just minutes after he discovered his body. Ramona Tamiyasu remembered that what Don said next was very strange:

“He said it didn’t look like there was any foul play and it also appeared that there weren’t any exit wounds. And, I said, ‘What are exit wounds? What are you talking about?’ I said, Why would there be gunshot wounds?”

Don Dixon explained why he used those words:

“Well, I clearly looked closely at the body to try and see if he had shot himself. I mean, because that was one of my first reactions was it was suicide. He had been very depressed and I had looked closely because of that. I mean, I honestly believed that a logical reason Eric was dead in bed was suicide.”

With three bullets lodged in his head, Eric’s death was clearly not suicide.

In one final twist, Diana Anderson said that when she and Eric heard the strange noises outside, they went to investigate and found a single shoeprint. Could that clue have identified Eric’s killer? Investigators will never know. Heavy rains washed it away days later.

Did Sheriff Wampler deliberately destroy evidence in the case to cover up his own involvement in the crime? He’s been adamant:

“I did not have anything to do with the death of Eric Tamiyasu, no.”

Could Eric Smith have wanted Eric Tamiyasu dead? Smith maintained that he and Eric were like family:

“Eric was my best friend, I mean he was the best man at my wedding. He was like my brother.”

Did Don Dixon tell the truth about his connection to the murder? Dixon claimed he did:

“I have no way of knowing who was involved with Eric Tamiyasu’s death. The only ones that I know that didn’t do it are my wife and myself. Other than that, everybody else in my mind is suspect.”

All the suspects in this case passed polygraph tests arranged by the Hood River County Sheriff’s Department, except for one: Don Dixon. Dixon eventually took an independently administered polygraph. The sheriff’s department says the results were inconclusive.

In the meantime, someone in Hood River has gotten away with murder.