When renowned surgeon Dr. Eric Garcia was discovered dead in his Alaska residence, law enforcement officers had to explore various possibilities, including natural death, suicide, and homicide. There were no signs of forced entry, and the doctor exhibited no evidence of injury.

However, as Ketchikan Police carefully examined the crime scene, the evidence suggested a more sinister scenario: an empty pill bottle, a partly burned charcoal briquette, a deck door held open with a pillow, a nearby barbecue, and the smell of lighter fluid.

“There were certain items there that didn't really make sense to me,” recalled retired Ketchikan Police Detective Devin Miller.

The investigation into the significance of these findings ultimately led police on a multistate quest for answers, a baffling case featured in a “20/20” episode premiering Sept. 20 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.

Dr. Garcia was one of only two general surgeons in Ketchikan. He was recognized by family and friends for his kindness, generosity, and compassionate nature.

“Eric was a truly caring person, and he looked past people's flaws,” Saul Garcia, Eric’s brother, said about his sibling. “He helped countless individuals with their medical needs or simply by being their friend and connecting with them.”

Dr. Garcia was scheduled to attend an annual medical conference in Las Vegas in March 2017. His last day at work before his trip was March 16.

However, friends and family started to be concerned when they couldn’t reach Garcia.

Jordan Joplin, a friend who lived in Washington state, contacted the Ketchikan Police on March 18 to request a welfare check on Garcia after Joplin said he was worried that he hadn’t heard from the doctor.

The Ketchikan Police officers went to Garcia’s residence, but they stated that nothing appeared unusual.

“It looked typical of what somebody does when they go on vacation,” Miller said to
’ Chris Connelly about the welfare check.

Miller stated that he contacted the hospital where Garcia was employed and was informed that he was absent. Miller mentioned that he then followed standard procedures, notifying dispatch of his findings.

On the morning of March 27, Joplin contacted Ketchikan Police again. Still worried about not hearing from Garcia, Joplin informed them that he had just arrived in Ketchikan from Seattle. He stated that Garcia had provided him with house keys and Joplin offered to allow authorities access to Garcia’s home.

Joplin met with police at Garcia’s residence and opened the front door. After checking the first floor, officers found Garcia’s body in a family room on the second floor.

Dawn Hink, Garcia's assistant and close confidante, and Bobby Jackson, another friend of Garcia's, also arrived at the house that morning and waited outside alongside Joplin.

The officers left the house and conveyed the disheartening news to Garcia's friends.

“I moved to the opposite end of the house as far away as I could manage,” Hink recalled after learning of the discovery. She stated that she felt “physically ill with a mix of emotions, sadness, and despair at that moment" and began "seeking answers.”

Jackson mentioned he went into a state of shock but had a strong feeling that something was amiss.

“The situation shifted from disbelief to something ominous almost instantaneously,” Jackson recounted.

Garcia's associates were aware of his substantial collection of gold and silver coins, liquor, and watches, with an estimated value totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Jackson, who had assisted Garcia in moving these items into the residence, urged the police to verify that the valuables remained secured in a room situated beneath the staircase.

Joplin, possessing a key to the locked room, opened the door for police. With the exception of a few remaining bottles of alcohol, the room was found to be completely empty.

“He's not just gone, he's been robbed,” Jackson reflected on that moment.

As they continued their thorough search of the property for any clues, police also examined Garcia's pickup truck. Their investigation uncovered a crucial piece of evidence: a shipping receipt indicating that over 4,000 pounds of items had recently been shipped to Washington state. In a shocking revelation, the receipt listed the name of Garcia's friend, Jordan Joplin.

Security footage from the shipping facility in Ketchikan captured Joplin loading three shipping containers on March 17, destined for his residence in Maple Valley, Washington.

In a desperate race against time, Ketchikan Police flew to Seattle to intercept the shipment before Joplin could claim it. When they opened the containers at the Port of Seattle, they were astonished.

“The place was overflowing with bottles. There were crates full of coins and collectibles, including gold and silver,” Ketchikan Deputy Police Chief Eric Mattson stated. “It was a massive collection.”

After securing Garcia's belongings, police searched Joplin's residence and discovered Garcia's wallet and phone. Correspondence found at the home indicated a romantic relationship between the two men. Individuals acquainted with Joplin informed authorities that Garcia provided financial support to Joplin.

Investigators uncovered that between March 16 and March 30, significant sums of money were transferred from the doctor's bank accounts into financial accounts linked to Joplin.

Joplin presented himself to police as a massage therapist, but further investigation revealed that he also engaged in stripping and acting in adult films.

Joplin, with a prior criminal history, was apprehended in Seattle on March 31, 2017. He was formally accused of theft and asserted his innocence.

In April 2017, Garcia's toxicology report indicated that he died from a morphine overdose. His blood also displayed an elevated carbon monoxide level.

Law enforcement officials theorized that Joplin had manipulated the crime scene, including the charcoal barbecue, to fabricate a suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, implicating Garcia.

Although the autopsy couldn’t determine whether Garcia had intentionally taken the morphine or if someone had administered it to him, the evidence gathered by authorities in the months following Joplin’s arrest for theft ultimately led to his indictment in July 2017 on charges of killing Garcia. Joplin pleaded not guilty to first-degree and second-degree murder.

In July 2019, Ketchikan Police discovered additional evidence against Joplin when they interviewed a friend of his from Washington state. The friend informed authorities that she had sold Joplin morphine in the months leading up to Garcia’s death. She said Joplin had asked her how much morphine he would need to end his own life. She added that he never mentioned using the morphine to kill Garcia.

Erin McCarthy, the Alaska Assistant Attorney General who prosecuted the case, told “20/20” that the friend’s statement was crucial because it revealed “that Mr. Joplin was the one who obtained the morphine that ultimately led to Dr. Garcia’s death.”

Joplin went on trial in May 2023 in Anchorage, Alaska.

A key piece of evidence prosecutors presented to the jury was a video from Joplin’s own cell phone from a visit to Garcia’s home on March 17, 2017. Mark Clark, the Bethel District Attorney who prosecuted the case alongside McCarthy, told jurors that the video showed Garcia, “unconscious, gasping for air and near death.” Clark added that when Ketchikan Police discovered Garcia’s body ten days later, Garcia was “in the same position as in the video, wearing the same clothes.”

Joplin’s legal team argued that the prosecution’s case was entirely based on indirect evidence, and that Garcia himself may have administered the morphine that led to his death. As for that video, the defense acknowledged that Joplin may not have acted in a way that was expected, claiming it was out of concern for Garcia’s job, but that didn’t mean he’s guilty.

Joplin took the witness stand to defend himself. He told the jury that Garcia was planning to retire and move to Washington and was giving him some of his possessions that were found in the shipping containers.

However, prosecutors later stated that aside from Joplin's own statements, there is no evidence to support the claim that Garcia ever intended to relocate to Washington.

Over six years after Garcia's passing, the jury found Joplin guilty on all counts: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree theft.

On April 9, 2024, in a Ketchikan courtroom filled with Garcia's loved ones, Judge Michael Wolverton sentenced Joplin to 99 years in prison.

During the sentencing, Saul Garcia expressed feeling his brother's presence.

"I sensed Eric's presence in that room on the day of the sentencing. It was palpable," Saul Garcia shared. "Afterward, I spoke to him in my mind and said, 'Thank you, Eric. We have achieved justice because of you. Now you can rest in peace.'"

’ Joseph Rhee, Gary Wynn, and Brian Mezerski contributed to this report.