Alabama middle school principal arrested and charged in 2013 cold-case murder in Georgia

An Alabama middle school principal was arrested and charged in the cold-case deaths of three people in Georgia more than a decade ago.

The victims were found Jan. 13, 2013, after an officer in Union City, Georgia, saw a 2010 Dodge Charger abandoned in Fulton County, the Clayton County Sheriff's Office said in a news release this month.

There were no arrests in the case until last week, when the sheriff's office received murder warrants for Keante Harris, Kenneth Thompson, Kevin Harris and Darrell Harris. They were all arrested across three states, the sheriff's office said.

Keante Harris, 45, worked at McAdory Middle School in McCalla, Alabama, as an assistant principal, NBC affiliate WVTM of Birmingham reported. Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin told the station in a statement before murder charges were announced that officials are still "gathering facts about the specifics of this situation."

"However, early indications are that the charges are not related to this individual’s employment with Jefferson County Schools," Gonsoulin said.

The school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. It's not clear whether Keante Harris has obtained an attorney.

Authorities said the investigation into the 2013 triple-murder determined that the victims were "tortured and murdered" in Clayton County and dumped in nearby Fulton County.

Detectives believe the victims were "lured to a residence" in Jonesboro, Georgia, and forced inside by gunpoint, the sheriff's office said.

"Later, they were loaded into the back seat of a Dodge Charger and taken to Fulton County," authorities said.

Keante Harris was taken into custody Wednesday in Alabama on a fugitive from justice warrant, online jail records show. All four suspects face three counts of malice murder, the sheriff's office said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com