The DNA of an Arizona man who died by suicide earlier this year has connected him to the unsolved slaying of a Navy veteran whose body was dumped in a cemetery four decades ago, prosecutors said.
\n\nOrison James “Jim” Chafin was 54 when he was killed on Aug. 7, 1987, and investigators now believe the homicide was committed by Gary Wayne Billups, according to a statement issued Tuesday by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
\n\nBillups was 68 when he died by suicide on June 24, days after he submitted DNA to investigators, authorities said.
\n\nChafin’s body was found at Resthaven Cemetery in Glendale, his throat cut and wearing only socks, officials said.
\n\nIn the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 1987, witnesses driving through the cemetery spotted a parked midsize sedan, which then “fled across the dirt and sidewalk,” according to the AG’s statement. Chafin’s body was found near where the car had been parked.
\n\nChafin had spent the afternoon and evening of Aug. 7 drinking at Critters Lounge, about 2 miles from where his body was found, prosecutors said. Detectives collected beer bottles and cigarette butts from the bar, and testing produced three male DNA profiles, which were entered…
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