Paul Bulgier said he is worried about the impact of survivor’s guilt.
The A-1 Storage manager had his friend Ernie Tullis, 84, fill in for him on the fateful Saturday morning of Oct. 22.
That was the day Eric Blaine Evans, 46, came looking for a storage unit. It appears that Evans stabbed Tullis and left him to die on the third floor of the storage facility. Evans, himself, was killed during an confrontation with Seattle police the very next day.
Bulgier said it is difficult to put what has happened into words. He had worked with Tullis for more than 12 years and always joked that no matter how long he worked at the facility, Bulgier was always “the new guy.”
“We laughed about Ernie never retiring,” Bulgier said. “He was just a wonderful person, and he loved the job.”
Bulgier described Tullis as “old school.” He never really learned how to use a computer and email befuddled him. When the company decided to upgrade their computers a few years ago, Tullis almost quit.
Bulgier described Tullis as something of a gentle giant. He was a big man, but always friendly and never lost his temper.
And boy did he love his Huskies. A graduate of the University of Washington after a stint in the military, Tullis was the top player on the school golf team. He played as much as he could, even carding a 71 at Inglemoor Golf Club at the age of 71.
He would also plan his weekend work schedule around Husky football games.
“I remember what impressed me the most was one time when I asked him if he’d ever played golf with (former Husky football coach) Don James,” Bulgier said. “Ernie said sure, the two had played golf together several times. That just always amazed me.”
Since the shocking death, sympathy cards from tenants and others have come into the office. Bulgier said some of the cards were sent before tenants even knew that Tullis had been killed. They were just simple notes thanking him for something he’d done for them. One person even drew a picture of a flower and wrote, “Thanks, Ernie.”
“That’s what people thought of him,” Bulgier said. “Everybody loved him. He was so helpful, always offering good advice. Just a great guy.”
What has made the loss all the more difficult is the shocking way in which Tullis was mortally wounded and then Evans appeared to linger in the building. Once Evans had stabbed Tullis, he went down to the storage facility’s office and began rummaging around, presumably looking for money or something to steal. A storage tenant actually walked into the entryway, which is divided from the office by a window, and interrupted Evans. The tenant asked Evans when his next bill was due.
The alleged killer pretended to shuffle through some files and told the tenant that he was good for another month. He then pushed a button allowing the tenant to enter the storage section of the facility.
Evans disappeared after that. He wasn’t seen again until the next day when Seattle police, armed with a good description of the killer from the tenant, recognized Evans as he tried to buy items from a convenience store using Tullis’ credit cards.
Police detectives quickly found Evans and after a tussle, shot and killed him in the Belltown area.
Bulgier said he is getting over the shock and horror of how Tullis died. But it will take much longer to forget the pain of losing a friend.
“That’s a pain that may never go away.”
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