A Fort Hood soldier has been arrested for the murder of a 32-year-old woman found dead inside a Days Inn motel room last July, authorities said.Cory Gafton, 20, was arrested and charged Tuesday afternoon with the July 2019 murder of Chelsea Cheatham, ending an exhaustive years-long investigation. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, one of Gafton’s co-workers told authorities the 20-year-old soldier confessed to killing Cheatham.A spokesperson for Fort Hood, a United States Army post, did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment. Grafton is currently being held in Killeen City Jail.Dead Suspect in Disappearance of Fort Hood Soldier Sexually Harassed Her: Lawyer“Through the investigation, Detectives with the Homicide Unit received information from a witness that 20-year-old Cory Grafton was at the scene at the time Chelsea Cheatham was murdered,” Killeen Police Department said in a Wednesday statement.Killeen Police said on June 3, 2019, Cheatham was found around 10:40 p.m. unconscious and not breathing inside a Days Inn in Killeen, about six minutes away from Fort Hood. The 32-year-old was pronounced dead about an hour later and an autopsy from the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas later ruled her death a homicide.Authorities refused to identify Cheatham’s cause of death.Despite the suspicious circumstances, the case quickly went cold, prompting authorities in June to appeal to the public for leads and offer a $1,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.On Sept. 2, 2020, Texas Rangers informed the Killeen Police Department about the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Program, which uses advanced DNA testing to help solve cases. Authorities said through the program, investigators were about to identify Grafton as a possible suspect.> BREAKING – We are getting our first look at the Fort Hood soldier charged in the 2019 murder of Chelsea Cheatham in …read more
Source:: Yahoo News
