Police said 71-year-old Johnnie Salisbury was taken into custody in connection with the killing of Edmund LaFave, a case that dates back more than five decades.
On Feb. 25, 1975, LaFave, who was 34 at the time, was found by police lying in a pool of blood on his bedroom floor at his home on Suncrest Drive near North Park. Investigators said he had been severely beaten and stabbed multiple times.
Despite an initial investigation, the case eventually went cold.
In a news release, the San Diego Police Department said cold case investigators reviewed the file numerous times over the years without success. The case advanced recently, however, after forensic technology helped identify Salisbury, who now resides in Syracuse, Indiana.
Police obtained an arrest warrant, and Salisbury was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail, where he is awaiting an extradition hearing.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the case to contact the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.