From Matt Unruh ~ Great Bend Post.com

GREAT BEND – The Barton County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man Monday for the murder of a Great Bend resident. Detectives Rick Popp and David Paden placed Jeffery Chapman under arrest for the murder of 25-year-old Damon Galyardt.

An investigation has been underway since the finding of Galyardt’s body in Barton County on November 12th, 2011, which led to Chapman’s arrest.

Chapman has been in custody in the Barton County Detention Center since November 15, on unrelated charges, however he was considered a person of interest in the case at that time.

Pending laboratory results, and numerous interviews conducted slowed the progression of the investigation.

Chapman was arrested on the charge of 1st Degree Murder and is being held at the Barton County Detention Center on a 1 million-dollar bond.

The Great Bend Police Department, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and the Rice County Sheriff’s Office have been assisting in the investigation of the case.