Former Liberty County corrections officer Kenneth Lumpkin appeared Tuesday in Long County Superior Court, where he was served with papers expressing the prosecution’s intent to seek the death penalty in Lumpkin’s upcoming murder trial, according to Liberty County Clerk of Court Frank Middleton.

The suspect and his attorneys were given copies of the hand-delivered certificate of service.

Lumpkin has been charged with the murder of Lori Arrowood, 42, who was reported missing from her John Wells Road home Sept. 25, 2010. A massive community-wide search involving volunteers and law-enforcement officials from Liberty and Long counties ensued. Arrowood’s body eventually was discovered in Long County near Tower Road.

According to earlier news reports, Lumpkin supposedly was a longtime friend of Arrowood’s. He reportedly had been doing handiwork at her residence the day she disappeared.

Before he was arrested, Lumpkin worked for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office for 14 years. He has been indicted on counts of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping with bodily injury and contributing to the death of another.