Harold and Joni Tillman

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department (CA)

Offense Location:

Yucaipa California

Summary:

The Tillmans lived in La Canada. They were last seen at home on 2/6/2000. Their bodies were discovered on 2/9/2000 in Yucaipa. (H# 2000-014)

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Fifty-five-year-old Harold Tillman, better known as Skip, was an accountant who lived with his fifty-one-year-old wife Joni in a house on Bramblewood Road in La Cañada, California. On February 6th, 2000, the couple was spotted having dinner at J.J. Steakhouse in Pasadena, and later that night, a neighbor saw their vehicle pulling into the driveway of their residence. After that sighting, they disappeared. Three days later, on February 9th, a hiker walking through a remote wash in Yucaipa spotted a dead dog and what appeared to be evidence of a recently dug grave. Further investigation revealed this to be the burial site of the Tillmans; the dog was their Maltese, Teddy. Both Skip and Joni had been strangled to death. Several days later, the pair’s car was found abandoned in Van Nuys. As investigators delved into the couple’s lives to find a possible motive, they discovered that Skip Tillman was being sued by a clothing designer who claimed he had forged checks and embezzled nearly two million dollars. Joni Tillman was also the subject of a lawsuit; her half-brother Craig Elliott was fighting her over shares of their father’s estate. Whether these legal troubles had anything to do with the double murder is still a mystery. The only other solid lead concerned a witness who saw two men in the wash a few days before the bodies were discovered. The individuals were driving a green Ford Bronco, and one of the men was described as a white male in his twenties or thirties with long dark hair and a baseball cap. The second man was not described. The case was officially reopened in 2008, but in the years since, there have been no new development

Additional Details:

ANYONE WITH INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Sheriff Homicide Detail (909) 387-3589 or WE TIP 1-800-78-CRIME

Case Last Updated:

Aug 07, 2025