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DNA Evidence Links Man to Navy Veteran’s Murder Nearly 40 Years Later, Authorities Say
Investigators matched DNA from beer bottles and cigarette butts to Billups, and authorities said the case is closed with no charges filed.
- On Tuesday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced that DNA evidence identified 68-year-old Gary Wayne Billups as the suspect in the 1987 murder of Orison James "Jim" Chafin, a 54-year-old Navy veteran of the Korean War.
- After receiving a tip last year, the Arizona Attorney General's Office and Glendale police reopened the nearly 40-year-old case, revisiting files and re-interviewing surviving witnesses to identify Billups, whom investigators could not locate in 1987.
- During a June interview, Billups denied knowing Chafin or living in Glendale in 1987 despite arrest records placing him there; his DNA sample matched evidence from the murder scene collected decades prior.
- Billups died by suicide five days after his police interview in June, preventing any criminal charges from being filed in Chafin's case and ensuring no trial will occur.
- Glendale police credited meticulous evidence preservation for the breakthrough, while Mayes emphasized the case demonstrates how modern DNA technology provides answers for families after nearly four decades of uncertainty.
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Suspect Takes His Own Life After DNA Evidence Identifies Him as Suspect in 1987 Murder of Navy Veteran
Just days after providing Glendale Police Department cold case investigators with a DNA sample in connection with the 1987 murder of Orison James "Jim" Chafin, Gary Wayne Billups took own life last month. Billups, 68, of Wittmann, took his own life on June 24, 2026, five days after he provided the DNA sample to investigators....
·Glendale, United States
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Total News Sources16
Leaning Left2Leaning Right1Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Center
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources are Center
80% Center
13%
C 80%
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