LOWELL, Mass. – An “incredible turn of events” has led to the arrest of three men in connection with the killing of a 15-year-old Massachusetts boy more than 41 years ago, authorities said Friday.

The body of John Joseph McCabe of Tewksbury was found in a vacant lot in Lowell in September 1969, police said. He had been bound with rope, his eyes and mouth taped shut.

McCabe was kidnapped after leaving a dance, assaulted by three older teenagers and left in the lot to die of asphyxiation as he struggled to free himself, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said.

Authorities on Thursday arrested Walter Shelley, 60, of Tewksbury; Edward Allan Brown, 59, of Londonderry, N.H.; and Michael Ferreira, 57, of Salem, N.H. All three knew McCabe, Leone said.

Shelley is charged with murder; Brown is charged with manslaughter. Ferreira faces a murder charge in juvenile court because he was a juvenile at the time; he also faces a perjury charge in adult court for allegedly lying to investigators.

Leone would not say exactly what led to the suspects but described it as an “incredible turn of events.”

A prosecutor in Lowell District Court said at Shelley’s arraignment Friday that the killing was sparked by jealousy over a girl. Shelley allegedly recruited his two friends to warn McCabe to stop talking to his girlfriend. The three suspects, all teenagers at the time, then made a pact to never talk about it.

Shelley was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail after pleading not guilty. Brown was released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty. Ferreira faces a fugitive from justice warrant in New Hampshire before appearing in a Massachusetts court.

McCabe’s family, particularly his father, William, never gave up on finding his killers, Lowell police Superintendent Ken Lavallee said.