Overview: Hillcrest homicide
Johnnie Ray Salisbury waived his right to have a speedy hearing when he appeared before a San Diego Superior Court judge. He is charged with the murder of Edmund La Fave, 34, in Feb., 1975, and has pleaded not guilty.
The defense attorney for a man who was recently charged with killing a gay man 51 years ago in Hillcrest won a delay in his preliminary hearing, now set for Sept. 10.
Johnnie Ray Salisbury, 71, waived his right to have a speedy hearing when he appeared before a San Diego Superior Court judge on April 28. He is charged with the murder of Edmund La Fave, 34, in February 1975, and has pleaded not guilty.
La Fave’s former boyfriend was able to gain entry to the apartment, where he found La Fave on the floor of his residence in the 2900 block of Suncrest Drive on Feb. 26, 1975.
The victim was found beaten to death, according to an autopsy, after being struck multiple times with a steam iron. Detectives found blood on the iron, and La Fave’s body was lying on top of the cord on his bedroom floor, according to court records.
A bloody fingerprint was found on the steam iron handle, and it was identified as matching Salisbury’s fingerprint.
Additionally, Salisbury’s fingerprint was found on a bus transfer ticket left behind inside the pocket of a coat in La Fave’s living room, according to court records.
Two knives with five-inch blades were also found, along with a broken, empty soda bottle. A deputy coroner responded to the scene to document the findings.
Investigators found bare bloody footprints on the kitchen floor, and a print examiner asked police to obtain Salisbury’s footprints in order to compare them. Salisbury’s fingerprint on the bottom of La Fave’s cash box was also found, records say.
Salisbury was arrested in Syracuse, Indiana, on Jan. 21, 2026, and was extradited to San Diego. He remains in jail without bail.
