(WARSAW) - A Syracuse, Indiana man has been arrested in connection with a San Diego murder that went unsolved for more than five decades.
Authorities say 71-year-old Johnnie Salisbury was taken into custody this week in Indiana for the 1975 killing of Edmund LaFave in San Diego.
According to police, LaFave was found dead on Feb. 25, 1975, inside his home on Suncrest Drive near the North Park area. The 34-year-old victim was discovered on his bedroom floor in a pool of blood, having been severely beaten and stabbed multiple times.
Despite an initial investigation, the case eventually went cold.
San Diego police say the case was revisited several times over the years without success, until recent advances in forensic technology allowed investigators to identify Salisbury as a suspect. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant and coordinated with Indiana authorities.
Salisbury was arrested in Kosciusko County and booked into the county jail, where he remains held while awaiting an extradition hearing to return to California.
San Diego police are asking anyone with information related to the case to contact the department's Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.