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When a business consultant is murdered, the key evidence goes up in smoke.  Eric Tamiyasu  Evidence was burned at sheriff’s request CASE DETAILS Hood River, Oregon. After Eric Tamiyasu and Diana Anderson had been “just friends” for years, but had decided to take their relationship to the next level. Diana recalled:
 Was there motive for destroying evidence? Late one evening, while Diana was visiting Eric at his house, the couple heard some mysterious tapping noises outside. Then someone was at the front door. They heard the sound of footsteps running away, but looking outside, they didn’t see anyone. Diana was spooked:
Eric’s home was located in a remote area outside of town. A week after Eric’s date with Diana, Don Dixon, a friend and business consultant, went to Eric’s house to check on him. Don says that for several days, he had been getting phone calls from Eric’s friends who also had not been able to reach him. He claimed he used a key Eric had given him to get in through a back door. Once inside, Don said he was hit by a foul odor:
 Three suspects took polygraph tests Searching the house, Don found Eric’s decomposing body sprawled across his bed:
Sgt. Gerry Tiffany of the Hood River County Sheriff’s Department arrived on scene:
As Eric Tamiyasu’s body was being removed from his house, Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler approached Don Dixon with a request: he wanted to know if Eric had a burn pile on his property. According to Don, Sheriff Wampler explained:
According to Don, the request wasn’t inappropriate:
 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:
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:
Sheriff Wampler has said there’s no truth to the story:
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:
According to Don, Eric Tamiyasu was quite upset after the argument:
Eric Smith said Don’s entire story is nonsense:
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:
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:
Don Dixon explained why he used those words:
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:
Could Eric Smith have wanted Eric Tamiyasu dead? Smith maintained that he and Eric were like family:
Did Don Dixon tell the truth about his connection to the murder? Dixon claimed he did:
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. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season eleven with Robert Stack and in season two with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
G
What gets me most about the interview with Don is him saying he checked for “exit wounds” for a suicide. Why not check for the weapon? Nothing about what Don is saying is adding up, I don’t think he acted alone, but I absolutely believe that he killed Eric.
T
It is strange, though, that a sheriff would instruct a citizen to burn evidence. Never heard of that before.
Allison
I completely agree that it is incredibly strange to have a law enforcement officer ask a private citizen to burn a bed especially before the results of an autopsy and since he had to know that the autopsy results would be completed fast ( he could have waited ). While i don’t think the sheriff is responsible for the Eric’s death but i do think there is a possibility that he knew that Eric was having/had seen his wife and his anger about that fact clouded his decision
Julie
Maybe one or more of these suspects was a beneficiary of his bank accounts or a life insurance policy? Maybe they knew of a large stash of money hidden in house.
Was the gun ever found? Or was it destroyed in another evidence bonfire.
I hope an independent police investigation is ongoing. How awful for his family.
Anonymous
Eric was a close family friend. As someone who was at his funeral, I will forever believe Don Dixon did it. As he spoke at the funeral he said that he was so close to Eric that he helped him install his security alarm to his house. He was the only person besides Eric that knew the code. He said this at the funeral and at 15, I immediately turned to my mom and asked her if she just heard what he said. My cousin confirmed he also heard it. From that moment on, I know he was behind the loss of our dear family friend who I saw my entire childhood.
Angie
I’m so sorry for your loss but I agree! I watched this episode many times and he is a bad actor trying to act like he was upset during the interview!
King vitamin
Don Dixon did it he failed polygraph. And he trying to pin it on too many people to clear himself. Eric was pounding his wife hard .while he was delivering spray Eric was spraying in his wife face and mouth while chewing big red gum.and pounding her from the back hard .Don heard a sound coming from the bushes plop plop plop plop plop his wife was taking all of it from Eric and he got jealous she was screaming body juices was splashing all over .rip Eric don needs to rot in prison
FeetBeet
Are you on drugs?
Angie
Agree!
Jenny from the Block
A persistent adage in murder investigations is that the prime suspects are the last person to see someone alive and the first person to find them after they’ve been killed. It appears in this case that both of those people are one and the same – Don Dixon.
UM fan
Is it possible that Diana lied about the tapping on the window and the knocking on the door and the footprint left on the ground to throw suspicion on her ex-husband. Those stalkerish behaviors were probably known to her. If they have been such good friends for so long, why wouldn’t she check on him, especially after those strange occurrences at his house. Not saying she had anything to do with the murder. I’m just wondering if she thought that her ex had something to do with it and made up those stories so that the police would look into her ex. In this case, I think Don murdered him. The fact that the front door was locked makes me believe that the murderer must have exited through the back door and Don just happened to have the keys to the back door, hmm… and that sobbing act when he was describing how he had found Eric’s body… Bravo. I saw no tears whatsoever. The sherif acted strangely. It is a little strange that he didn’t wait for the autopsy results. It is also strange that he asked Don to do it, not a police officer. But I just can’t imagine how these two would have done it together. Hope that this case gets solved someday.
M
The sheriff’s wife did it.
She was having an affair with Eric. She was the one who made the noise outside during Eric and Diana’s date. She went back to confront Eric and ended up killing him.
The wife went home and confessed the whole thing to her husband. That’s why had the neighbor burn the mattress; he was destroying evidence. When he said he didn’t do it- he didn’t. But his wife did.
Does that make sense?
Michael
There are actually (5) Suspects, but what I noticed is that people are only looking for (1) killer. What if two or more of these suspects are involved? The sheriff in his closing remarks on the episode of Unsolved Mysteries said, “I am not responsible for these deaths”…and then he corrected himself. No one in law enforcement, especially a sheriff would ask someone to burn evidence from a crime scene…Not to mention a civilian doing it. Why would Don, agree to do such a thing. I clearly think there is a connection between the murder, the sheriff and the Don Dixon. I am always wary of potential suspects being “to helpful” on cases. In this case, Don has alot of answers that lead nowhere. (Eric having an affair with the sheriff’s wife, the so-called argument between Eric and his business partner about owing 50 to 60 thousand dollars. Also, Eric’s business partner said that Don was just someone he bought spray from. Why did Don have a key to the back door of Eric’s house? I have spare keys that only my family has copies of, I don’t understand why Eric would have given Don a key. And…What about Diane Anderson, Eric and her had just started dating and we have only her testimony as to what happened that night, she was the last to see him alive. You would think that with all the weird stuff that happened the night (door ringing, someone running away, etc.) that she would have checked up on him. Eric was found dead a week later.
This case needs an independent investigation by some other law enforcement agency to get it cleared up.
-Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler: After Eric’s body was removed from the house, Wampler made the odd decision to ask Dixon if he would help him bring Eric’s bedding and mattress outside because it had been soiled by his decomposition. At Wampler’s request, Dixon then set the items on fire, which may have destroyed potential evidence. Wampler’s rationale was that since the bullets had not yet been discovered, he suspected Eric’s death was natural causes and wanted to spare his family the grief of seeing his soiled bedding. Dixon would later recall a conversation where Eric told him he was romantically involved with an older Polynesian woman. Since Wampler’s wife was Polynesian, this gave him a potential motive, but Wampler denied his wife was having an affair with Eric or that he was involved in the murder
.-Eric Smith: One of Tamiyasu’s closest friends and business partners. Dixon claimed that a few days before the murder, he passed by Tamiyasu’s office and heard him arguing with Smith. The two men had a failed side business and Tamiyasu allegedly accused Smith of pocketing $50,000-60,000 of the money they had invested. Smith denied this argument took place and an investigation of their financials revealed that both men had each invested only $15,000 in the failed business and that Smith did not owe Tamiyasu any money
-Don Dixon: After discovering Eric’s body, he immediately phoned up his sister, Ramona Tamiyasu, to tell her Eric was dead and that there were “no exit wounds”. This statement came across as suspicious since the bullet holes in Eric’s head were not even discovered until the following day. Dixon claimed he said this was because he initially thought Eric committed suicide, even though no gun was found at the scene. Many of Eric’s friends also claimed Dixon greatly overexaggerated the nature of his friendship with Eric and that they were casual business acquaintances at best. While Wampler and Smith both agreed to take polygraph tests with the sheriff’s department and passed, Dixon would only take one which was administered independently and the results were inconclusive
-Diana Anderson’s ex-boyfriend: Not much information is known about him and his name has never been released publicly, but he was the father of Diana’s child and had a history of stalker-like behaviour. Since Eric was killed after his date with Diana ended, the ex-boyfriend had a potential motive. The shoeprint which was found outside Eric’s house after someone rang his doorbell had been washed away by heavy rains by the time Eric’s body was discovered.
-Diana Anderson. Last to see him alive. In June of 2001, Eric invited his friend Diana Anderson over to his house for a date. After Eric Tamiyasu and Diana Anderson had been “just friends” for years, but had decided to take their relationship to the next level. Diana recalled: “It was just kind of, you know, checking each other out, and seeing if maybe this is someone that I would like to spend more time with, and I think it was the same for both of us.” Late one evening, while Diana was visiting Eric at his house, the couple heard some mysterious tapping noises outside. Then someone was at the front door. They heard the sound of footsteps running away, but looking outside, they didn’t see anyone. Diana was spooked: “It was not funny at that time of night when I have to get in my car and drive home by myself.” Eric’s home was located in a remote area outside of town. She said she left a few hours later, if she had sex with Eric and that DNA evidence was on the bed, it was lost forever when the bed was burned. We have only her word on what happened and if strange things were happening on that date with someone tapping on the door, and ringing the doorbell why didn’t she follow up with Eric or anyone else?
Anonymous
It wasn’t a crime scene at the time. It is true that he should’ve waited until the cause of death was determined.
Michael
There are actually (4) Suspects, but what I noticed is that people are only looking for (1) killer. What if two or more of these suspects are involved? The sheriff in his closing remarks on the episode of Unsolved Mysteries said, “I am not responsible for these deaths”…and then he corrected himself. No one in law enforcement, especially a sheriff would ask someone to burn evidence from a crime scene…Not to mention a civilian doing it. Why would Don, agree to do such a thing. I clearly think there is a connection between the murder, the sheriff and the Don Dixon. I am always wary of potential suspects being “to helpful” on cases. In this case, Don has alot of answers that lead nowhere. (Eric having an affair with the sheriff’s wife, the so-called argument between Eric and his business partner about owing 50 to 60 thousand dollars. This case needs an independent investigation by some other law enforcement agency to get it cleared up.
-Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler: After Eric’s body was removed from the house, Wampler made the odd decision to ask Dixon if he would help him bring Eric’s bedding and mattress outside because it had been soiled by his decomposition. At Wampler’s request, Dixon then set the items on fire, which may have destroyed potential evidence. Wampler’s rationale was that since the bullets had not yet been discovered, he suspected Eric’s death was natural causes and wanted to spare his family the grief of seeing his soiled bedding. Dixon would later recall a conversation where Eric told him he was romantically involved with an older Polynesian woman. Since Wampler’s wife was Polynesian, this gave him a potential motive, but Wampler denied his wife was having an affair with Eric or that he was involved in the murder
.-Eric Smith: One of Tamiyasu’s closest friends and business partners. Dixon claimed that a few days before the murder, he passed by Tamiyasu’s office and heard him arguing with Smith. The two men had a failed side business and Tamiyasu allegedly accused Smith of pocketing $50,000-60,000 of the money they had invested. Smith denied this argument took place and an investigation of their financials revealed that both men had each invested only $15,000 in the failed business and that Smith did not owe Tamiyasu any money
-Don Dixon: After discovering Eric’s body, he immediately phoned up his sister, Ramona Tamiyasu, to tell her Eric was dead and that there were “no exit wounds”. This statement came across as suspicious since the bullet holes in Eric’s head were not even discovered until the following day. Dixon claimed he said this was because he initially thought Eric committed suicide, even though no gun was found at the scene. Many of Eric’s friends also claimed Dixon greatly overexaggerated the nature of his friendship with Eric and that they were casual business acquaintances at best. While Wampler and Smith both agreed to take polygraph tests with the sheriff’s department and passed, Dixon would only take one which was administered independently and the results were inconclusive
-Diana Anderson’s ex-boyfriend: Not much information is known about him and his name has never been released publicly, but he was the father of Diana’s child and had a history of stalker-like behaviour. Since Eric was killed after his date with Diana ended, the ex-boyfriend had a potential motive. The shoeprint which was found outside Eric’s house after someone rang his doorbell had been washed away by heavy rains by the time Eric’s body was discovered.
thinkingoutloud
Don was the only one to find Eric dead. And only one apparently to have the key to his place. I think Don voluntarily went to Eric’s to pretend he stumbled upon his body so he would get ruled out as a suspect immediately. Maybe Don and Eric had fights over money. Maybe Don wanted in on the used cars company but he wasn’t allowed. Did they ever investigate Eric’s girlfriend at the time? What does she feel? I find it odd too the family requested that Eric’s one and only property that would contain evidence aka the bed to be burned. I think the Sheriff was in on it too. Maybe Eric was sleeping with the Sheriff’s wife and the Sheriff and Don conspired together to kill Eric and then get rid of the evidence. The Sheriff claims that they burned the bed BEFORE the autopsy was even done when they found the bullets. How could he claim after the bed was burn and the autopsy was done that he burned the bed so the family wouldn’t go through any trauma? Aka he burned the bed prior cause there was other evidence on the bed.
Rainbowzuess
The sheriff is definitely in on it someway I agree. Who the hell burns evidence. Evidence is evidence no matter how big or small that’s just common sense (which he is clearly lacking) AND to burn it to save the family of trauma is just bogus! Please this guy is sketchy as hell. Now do I think that he pulled the trigger no, but he definitely had something to do with it, I believe Dixon done it. Either the sherif has leverage on him as blackmail there in it together. Let’s be honest here the sherif is not gonna pull the trigger and put his job on the line, the guy has at least a couple of good brain cells in there, but I do think he used his position to get someone vulnerable enough aka Dixon to do it for him.
Helene
There are at least 2 people If I could I would have them arrested: “This father of her child and the other is our ex-sheriff.”
Anonymous
There are at least two people that if I could I would have them arrested. One is the father of Diana’s child and the other is the ex-sheriff.
heard stuff
It’s very likely Don Dixon killed him. He has been a suspect in two previous unsolved murders; one was his business partner, and one was his ex-wife.
Sam
Dixon is a crazy psycho! Wow! Dixon is a Liar, liar, liar!
I’d want the sheriff to dispose of the matress as well! Bless the sheriff! All evidence was already collected before the matress was taken out! What more DNA do you need? Get a life people! Dixon is going to turn himself in!
Jon keener
Sam! You’re the smartest thread I’ve read yet! Praise the sheriff for getting rid of the mattress so the family didn’t have to see such a mess! The evidence was collected prior burning, collect your facts people! Dixon is a psychopath! Rip!
curious
I think Don Dixon killed ERIC T. …..because he either wanted him sexually or the had a one time encounter Don liked it got mad when he saw ERIC had company got in the house Shot in a Jealous rage….( SORRY….no disrespect to ERICs Family)…but how did Don get the key…..how did he know ERIC keeps the key under a mat….he probably told the sheriff that he had a sexual affair with ERIC…..because what reason would u burn the bed for and the sheriff gave you the ok…..wow …to save the Family Embarrassment….from what ?…….Embarrassment is not knowing what happened….Don Dixion….got a dirty little secret that his Wife doesn’t know about….he is GAY….& he loved ERIC & was very upset when he seen ERIC with a date…..wow were is Don Dixon Now….?
rob
Also the tapping and knock at the door seems strange. Someone mentioned a stalking ex of Anderson’s in the comments….possible he was trying to ruin the mood by tap and knocks? Did he want to size up Eric when he came to the door? The show never mentioned evidence of forced entry either. Did Eric always sleep nude? Did he lock his doors? Did others know of the hidden key?
rob
Now if the sheriff was guilty why would he order that mattress burned knowing that the coroner would eventually find the wounds? Wouldn’t that make it obvious he was trying to hide something and bring more suspicion on himself? He’s guilty of assuming it was an open and shut case of suicide or natural causes. The body was bloated and oozing fluid which hid the wounds and soiled the mattress. Google it if you need a graphic image as to why he’d want the family spared seeing that mattress. He also passed the polygraph.
ava
How idiotic and suspicious for a cop to tell someone to burn items from a home that doesn’t belong to either men. If I was a relative of Eric’s, I’d be pissed!! I hope that cop has retired already or was fired after that. And the guy who found the body and then burned the bed is just as suspicious for comments made to the sister. Sounds like they worked together.
Thylacine
I bet it was D.B. Cooper that done this. He’s been hiding out in the woods around there ever since he jumped outta that plane with all that money. and Tamiyasu found out about him one day when he was working in an orchard. Cooper had to kill him or his cover would have been blown.
Tom
This is my top theory too.
Just somebody
Has anyone checked into Anderson’s estranged ex. He has been known to stalk exes.
Elly
I wondered that as well. It doesn’t appear that they looked into Diana Anderson’s background, or looked into Eric Tamiyasu’s ex-girlfriends.
Anonymous
Cops are corrupt. Especially in Hood River. Especially Wampler. He later assaulted a skateboarding teenager. Cops think they can get away with murder, and it looks like they do. Hopefully what goes around comes around for those power hungry pigs.
johnson
I’m not sure if it was him or not. It never stated whether he could have had a motive or not. I’m sure there is more to this case than what’s posted here. I hear what the Sheriff said about burning the bed but that still makes no sense to me. I’ve never heard of doing that before… strange
Patricia Carrigan
I lived in Hood River at the time. Everyone I knew thought that Wampler did it because of burning the bed, but I think he just knew who did it and was covering for them. Either way he was involved.
Bill Blaski
Any updates who Diana Anderson first husband is? I see online that this individual had stalker behaviors. The more I think about it they heard sounds, door bell rings twice. Once she leaves the invader murders Eric. Who is this guy?
Indaknow
Diana’s son’s father is Daniel Carter who lives on Old Parkdale Road. He and his girlfriend were Marijuana smokers.
Jonathan Cox
I feel that Don Dixon was the one who shot Eric Tamiyasu because he had mentioned that there were bullet wounds which was not brought up.
R Potts
I have seen this episode many times but today something stood out at the end about Don Dixon’s polygraph. He then said the only ones he knew didn’t do it was him and his wife. His wife??? Who said anything about his wife? Nothing was ever mentioned about her in the entire episode.