Indiana man pleads not guilty after arrest in 1975 San Diego killing of Edmund LaFave

A half-century-old homicide returns to court

An Indiana man has pleaded not guilty in a San Diego cold-case murder prosecution stemming from the 1975 killing of Edmund LaFave, a North Park-area resident whose death remained unsolved for decades. The case centers on forensic DNA work that investigators say allowed them to identify a suspect more than 50 years after the crime.

What investigators say happened in 1975

LaFave, 34, was found dead on Feb. 25, 1975, inside his residence in the 2900 block of Suncrest Drive, an area near present-day North Park. Investigators at the time determined he had been severely beaten and stabbed multiple times. Police described the victim as being found on the bedroom floor amid extensive blood loss.

Despite an initial investigation, no arrest was made and the case eventually went cold. Over the years, detectives revisited the file without reaching a resolution until newer forensic methods were applied to preserved evidence.

How the suspect was identified and arrested

Authorities say the renewed push relied on forensic investigative genetic genealogy, a method that combines DNA analysis with family-tree research to generate investigative leads. Investigators have said the approach, paired with additional forensic work and traditional investigative steps, led them to identify 71-year-old Johnnie Ray Salisbury, of Syracuse, Indiana.

Salisbury was taken into custody in North Webster, Indiana, on Jan. 21, 2026, after an arrest warrant was served with assistance from multiple agencies. He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail in Warsaw, Indiana, while extradition proceedings moved forward to transfer him to California to face charges related to LaFave’s death.

Current legal posture: not-guilty plea and what comes next

After being brought into the San Diego court process, Salisbury entered a not-guilty plea. Under U.S. criminal procedure, the plea places the burden on prosecutors to prove the allegations in court, while the defendant maintains the presumption of innocence.

Investigators have not publicly detailed a motive for the killing, and authorities have not released a full accounting of the DNA interpretation, the genealogy work product, or how any genetic lead was corroborated by other evidence—issues that commonly become central in pretrial litigation and at trial in cold-case prosecutions.

• The homicide date is Feb. 25, 1975; the arrest occurred Jan. 21, 2026.

• The case relies in part on genetic genealogy, which typically prompts court scrutiny of validation, chain of custody, and the distinction between investigative leads and admissible evidence.

• No motive has been publicly identified, and investigators continue to seek information that could clarify circumstances around the killing.

Anyone with information about the LaFave case is urged to contact the San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.