GLENDALE, Ariz. DNA preserved from a 1987 homicide scene has identified a Wittmann man as the suspect in the killing of Glendale resident and Navy veteran Orison James “Jim” Chafin, Arizona authorities announced Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office said laboratory testing matched Gary Wayne Billups, 68, to DNA recovered from evidence collected nearly four decades ago. Billups died by suicide June 24, five days after voluntarily providing a DNA sample to investigators.
No charges will be filed, and the Attorney General’s Office and Glendale Police Department consider the case closed. That distinction matters: the DNA finding came after Billups’ death, so the evidence was never tested in a criminal trial and no court determined guilt.
A case preserved since 1987
Chafin, 54, was found dead in Resthaven Cemetery near 63rd and Northern avenues during the early morning of Aug. 8, 1987. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.
Chafin had served in the Navy during the Korean War and lived alone at a West Valley trailer park. Investigators determined that he had spent the previous afternoon and evening at Critters Lounge near 59th and Glendale avenues. Witnesses placed Billups and two other men at the bar with Chafin that night, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Glendale detectives collected beer bottles and cigarette butts that eventually produced three male DNA profiles. The profiles were entered into the national CODIS database, but authorities reported no match or arrest for decades.
The state Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation with Glendale police in 2025. Investigators reviewed the original file, reinterviewed surviving witnesses and focused on Billups, who lived in Glendale in 1987 but had not been interviewed during the original investigation.
Interview in Surprise led to DNA comparison
Investigators first sought an interview with Billups in March 2026. On June 19, they located him and interviewed him at the Surprise Police Department, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Authorities said Billups denied knowing Chafin and denied living in Glendale in 1987, while arrest records placed him in the city in 1986 and 1987. He provided a DNA sample and was released. Laboratory results returned Aug. 6 and matched his profile to evidence from the 1987 scene.
The Attorney General’s criminal division chief told KJZZ that prosecutors believed the full body of evidence would have supported a murder charge and presented a reasonable likelihood of conviction if Billups had lived. The station also reported that two other deceased men were linked to the scene, leaving some uncertainty about whether anyone else participated.
The official release says two other people investigated in connection with the case have died. Authorities did not assign them responsibility in the announcement.
Evidence storage made the finding possible
Glendale police credited the detectives who collected and preserved the evidence in 1987, along with the state investigators who reopened the file. The case illustrates how old physical evidence can gain new value as forensic testing improves and new information gives investigators a reason to review an unsolved file.
Chafin is survived by a niece and nephew, according to the Attorney General’s Office. KTAR reported that the DNA match was returned after Billups’ death and that authorities now regard the investigation as closed.
Editor’s note: The featured image is an original editorial illustration and does not depict the actual evidence, people or crime scene.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Comments
Join the conversation. Keep comments relevant, civil and focused on the story.