Graham man charged in father’s murder had previous domestic violence arrest, charges say
A Graham man accused of fatally shooting his father with a bow and arrow had previously threatened to harm his family members, prosecutors say.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Eric Polyashov, 25, with first-degree murder for the death of his 54-year-old father on Oct. 18 in their Graham home. Prosecutors alleged that Polyashov killed his father during an argument.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Polyashov’s behalf during his arraignment Monday afternoon. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Philip Thornton set his bail at $1.5 million.
Amanda Danforth, Polyashov’s assigned counsel, requested that he still have contact with his family.
“This is a young man who just lost his father, regardless of the circumstances. This is a family who lost a family member,” Danforth said.
Thornton ruled that while Polyashov is prohibited from having contact with alleged victims and witnesses, he may have phone conversations with his family. He is not allowed to discuss the case with his family.
Charging details
Pierce County deputies were dispatched to a home in the 24000 block of 64th Avenue East at 9:42 p.m. Friday for a possible homicide. The victim, who had a chest wound, was pronounced dead inside the garage of the home after fire department personnel performed CPR, according to charging documents.
Deputies found an 18-inch section of an arrow near the victim along with a pair of scissors on the ground just outside the door, prosecutors wrote.
The victim’s daughter said she came out to the garage and saw her father on the ground, prosecutors wrote. She began to perform CPR. She told officials she believed her brother killed her father because she heard them arguing earlier in the night.
The daughter said she saw Polyashov walking in the yard with something in his hand, but she could not see what it was because it was dark outside. Polyashov left after and drove off in a black Chevrolet truck, she told officials.
The daughter said Polyashov was arrested in July after he threatened to harm several family members. He also had a spear gun during the incident. Charges were not filed because the family believed he needed mental health treatment, documents show.
She said that Polyashov causes a lot of issues at the house and that everyone is afraid of him, prosecutors wrote. Polyashov’s older brother later confirmed that Polyashov was acting strangely over the past few months, and the family thought he had mental health issues.
Polyashov’s older brother said the Chevrolet was at the house when he got home at about 10 a.m. He went inside to work for several hours. He later heard his mother yelling for him, saying his father was on ground, prosecutors wrote. His father did not say anything when asked what was wrong. He then went limp and CPR was performed.
Polyashov’s mother said her son was “very angry all the time.” The victim wanted a restraining order against Polyashov because things had been escalating, prosecutors wrote.
One of the victim’s children had found an arrow that was broken off near where his father was, prosecutors wrote. The medical examiner located the shaft and head of the arrow inside the victim’s chest.
The suspected bow used to shoot the arrow into the victim has not been located, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Darren Moss told The News Tribune.
Polyashov was arrested the next day at 4:46 p.m. in Puyallup after officers saw his truck driving south on Meridian, prosecutors wrote.
When a detective asked Polyashov if he wanted to speak about what happened between him and his father, Polyashov said he did not want to talk about that. He was booked into Pierce County Jail.
Polyashov does not have any prior criminal convictions, court records show.
