UPDATE: An arrest was made Tuesday night in a cold case out of Walker County.

According to the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, 50-year-old Marshall Ralph Payne was arrested in Murray County.

Payne is accused of killing Donald Fickey Jr. in 2016.

Fickey’s death was originally ruled a suicide by investigators, but his family believed foul play was involved.

Fickey’s family worked tirelessly to prove his death was not a suicide and even hired a private investigator to help with the case.

Payne was booked at the Walker County Jail on Wednesday.

He is charged with one count of murder.

Stay with the Local 3 News app for updates to this developing story.

PREVIOUS STORY: There are big developments out of Walker County, where a state medical examiner has ruled Donald Fickey, Jr. did not take his own life, four years after his death was written off as a suicide.

A spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation tells Local 3 News additional information in the four year old case contributed to the change.

An orange banner hangs inside Amanda Shirley's home. It's a reminder that her message is simple.

"It says Justice for DJ," she said.

Fickey, who went by DJ, was 28 years old when he was found dead with a gunshot wound to the face in 2016.

His death was ruled a suicide but Shirley has always believed otherwise. And now, four years later, a medical examiner with the GBI agrees.

"It's huge. It's something that I never expected would come," she said.

It's taken a lot to get to this point.

Shirley hired high-profile Private Investigator Eric Echols to look into the case.

READ MORE | Private investigator: 'There's enough proof for arrest in case ruled suicide' 

Two months ago, the pair sat down with GBI Director Vic Reynolds.

Echols believes a fresh perspective is what they needed.

"He made them re-look at it and once you look at that case in its entirety, you only have to come back and say, DJ Fickey did not commit suicide," Echols said.

Echols said the amended autopsy opens doors for local authorities that weren't available before.

"It now opens up the door for Walker County and the district attorney to reopen up the case," he added.

The news gives Shirley hope she will one day get justice for her brother.

"I believe in my opinion they have enough evidence and proof to get a charge or an indictment, whatever they need to do," she said.

Local 3 reached out to Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson to see if the case will be reopened.

Sheriff Wilson said, "The case will not be reopened simply because the medical examiner changed the manner of death from suicide to undetermined. Should new evidence be discovered the sheriff's office will evaluate the evidence and proceed accordingly."

PREVIOUS STORY: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Medical Examiner’s Office has amended the manner of death in a Walker County case.

Investigators said four years ago, Donald Edward Fickey, Jr. died by suicide in Walker County but his sister has maintained that she had proof he was murdered.

READ MORE | Private investigator: 'There's enough proof for arrest in case ruled suicide' 

Amanda Shirley hired a high-profile private investigator to take a look at the case.

The pair sat down with the investigator on the case earlier this year.

After receiving additional information in Fickey’s death, a spokesperson for the GBI confirmed to Local 3 the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office amended the original autopsy report and updated the manner of death to undetermined.

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