An Ole Miss student vanished in July. Now a classmate faces murder trial, police say

A Mississippi man has been indicted by a grand jury in the suspected death of Jimmy “Jay” Lee, a student at Ole Miss who has been missing since July, police said.

Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., 22, was indicted on capital murder charges after just over a day of testimony, according to a news release from the Oxford Police Department on March 29.

Police said Herrington Jr. was served by the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department on the morning of the 29th, and remains under a previous bond.

Jimmy “Jay” Lee, a 20-year-old student at the University of Mississippi, was last seen leaving Campus Walk apartments at around 6 a.m. on July 8, according to a joint news release from the Oxford police and University of Mississippi Police.

Lee’s vehicle was later found at an impound lot on July 11 after it had been removed July 8 from another apartment complex where police said they believed Lee had been visiting.

Lee was described as “well-known on campus” and that this behavior was “unlike him,” as reported by WLBT.

“He’ll talk to anybody, he’s kind of the life of the party, he’s real sweet so it’s just unfortunate something like this has happened to him,” a neighbor of Lee told WLBT.

The search for Lee continued, and on July 22, Oxford police said they had arrested Herrington Jr. on murder charges, according to a news release, though a body had not been found.

“Law enforcement agencies are still working to locate Lee’s body. This is still an ongoing investigation,” the release said.

On Aug. 9, Herrington Jr. appeared in a bond hearing where prosecutors said he was one of Lee’s classmates and that Lee identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community, WLBT reported.

In the hearing, Oxford police detective Ryan Baker testified that Herrington Jr. and Lee were messaging on Snapchat and talked about “hooking up,” WLBT reported, and Herrington Jr. had admitted to a sexual relationship with Lee during an interview with Oxford police.

“Based on the information collected to date, our investigators believe this crime represents an isolated incident stemming from the relationship between Jay Lee and Tim Herrington Jr. We do not believe this incident reflects a larger threat to our LGBTQ+ community,” Oxford police and University of Mississippi Police Department said in a joint news release on Aug. 12.

Herrington Jr. was denied bond in August.

In October, Herrington Jr. filed a lawsuit against the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department, saying he was being held in jail illegally, as reported by WMC.

He said there was no direct evidence against him for Lee’s death after detectives tracked Lee and Herrington Jr.’s communications over social media and surveillance footage, and used cadaver dogs to search around Herrington Jr.’s apartment, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said the dogs were used to bring a murder charge, but no body had been found and detectives could not say whether human remains had been found by the dogs.

In December, Herrington Jr.’s defense team made an agreement with the district attorney that surrendered his passport and required him to wear an ankle monitor, and Herrington Jr. was released on a $250,000 bond, WMC reported.

Friends of Lee created an Instagram account to follow the progress of Lee’s case and to advocate for protections for LGBTQ+ people.

The Oxford Police Department presented its case against Herrington Jr. to the grand jury on March 27, and an indictment ruling was made.

Lee’s body has not been found.

Oxford, Mississippi, is about 90 miles southeast of Memphis, Tennessee.

If you are struggling or thinking of harming yourself, you can reach out to a counselor with the Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people. Text ‘START’ to 678-678 or call 1-866-488-7386.

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