JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- After an 18-month manhunt, the man accused of killing three people in an Arlington home in July 2002 is being held in a western Kentucky jail.

TIMELINE OF MURDERS, MANHUNT July 24, 2002 - Elizabeth Reed, 35, and Glenn Pafford, 49, are shot and killed in just after midnight at Reed's Arlington home. Reed's 16-year-old daughter, Courtney Smith, is also shot and in critical condition. July 25, 2002 - Police announce they want to question Reed's former boyfriend, Pickney "Chip" Carter, in connection with the murders. July 27, 2002 - Courtney Smith dies at Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center. Aug. 8, 2002 - Carter is located in a Mexican jail. He was arrested on a weapons charge after allegedly swimming across the Rio Grande River from Texas with a gun. He refused to talk with Jacksonville homicide detectives. Nov. 27, 2002 - Carter pays $1,000 and walks out of the Mexican jail. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office wasn't told of the release for a month, then kept it quiet until February 2003 as they tried to locate him. April 2003 - Carter featured as fugitive on "America's Most Wanted." November 2003 - Carter featured in People magazine. Dec. 9, 2003 - State Attorney Harry Shorstein reluctantly tells Mexican authorities that prosecutors will not seek the death penalty if they can find and extradite Carter. Jan. 1, 2004 - A man identifying himself as "Rodney Vonthun" is arrested for public intoxication by Kentucky State Police. Jan. 6, 2004 - "Vonthun" is rearrested and identified as Carter. Jan. 8, 2004 - Carter extradited to Jacksonville. Jan. 15, 2004 - Grand jury indicts Carter on three counts of first-degree murder. Jan. 20, 2004 - At his arraignment, Carter pleads not guilty. Sept. 19, 2005 - Murder trial of Chip Carter begins.

Detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office are heading to Paducah, Ky., to interview a man now identified as Pickney "Chip" Carter (pictured, left, in Kentucky mug shot).

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Sheriff, State Attorney Annnounce Capture Of Carter

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office received confirmation Tuesday morning that fingerprints of the man arrested by Kentucky State Police matched those of Carter, who is suspected of a killing his ex-girlfriend, her daughter and another man.

Carter was wanted by Jacksonville homicide detectives for questioning in the triple murder when he swam across the Rio Grande to avoid Texas police in August 2002.

Mexican authorities immediately arrested him on weapons charges, but released him without explanation three months later. They waited more than a month before notifying Jacksonville police.

Elizabeth Smith Reed, 35; her 16-year-old daughter with Carter, Courtney Smith, and Reed's boyfriend, Glenn Pafford, 49, were fatally shot in Reed's Jacksonville home July 24, 2002.

Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford said that Carter was arrested by Kentucky State Police on New Year's Day on a charge of disorderly intoxication, but gave the name Rodney Vonphun, and was released two days later.

The trooper that had arrested him on that charge saw Carter profiled on "America's Most Wanted" Saturday night. Suspecting that Vonphun was Carter, he was rearrested at a home in Mayfield, Ky., and held for positive identification.

Liz Reed's step mother called WJXT-TV Tuesday morning, calling the arrest "great news."

Last month, prosecutors in Jacksonville agreed not to seek the death penalty if Carter was convicted to get the assistance of Mexican authorities. On Tuesday, Shorstein said that because Carter was captured in this country, he still has the option of pursuing the death penalty.

"We consider this to be a extremely aggravated, serious case," Shorstein said.