# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdXYkxAD5UF
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70597311-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/963d3203f0.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-16T22:42:23.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

A 39-year-old Glendale cold case was finally solved through DNA, but the man investigators say was responsible took his own life before the results ever came back.

On August 8, 1987, 54-year-old Korean War Navy veteran Orison James “Jim” Chafin was found at Resthaven Cemetery in Glendale. His throat had been cut three times, he was wearing only socks, and the rest of his clothing was never recovered. Witnesses had seen a vehicle speed away from the area shortly before his body was discovered.

Chafin had spent the previous evening drinking at Critters Lounge near 59th and Glendale avenues. Witnesses placed Gary Wayne Billups and two other men at the bar with him that night. Investigators also collected beer bottles and cigarette butts from the scene that eventually produced three male DNA profiles, but none matched anyone in the national database for decades.

The case was reopened in 2025. Investigators eventually tracked down Billups, now 68, and interviewed him in June 2026. He denied ever knowing Chafin and claimed he had not lived in Glendale in 1987, despite arrest records placing him there around that time. Billups voluntarily provided a DNA sample and was released.

Five days later, Billups took his own life.

About six weeks after that, the DNA results came back. Authorities say Billups’ profile matched DNA preserved from the 1987 scene. Investigators also said a note Billups left behind reinforced their conclusion. No charges can be filed because he is deceased, but authorities now consider Chafin’s case closed.

Via: AZFamily / Arizona Attorney General’s Office

#Glendale #Arizona #TrueCrime #ColdCase #ArizonaNews

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## Tags

truecrime, arizonanews, arizona, glendale, coldcase

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