Police became increasingly convinced of foul play regarding the disappearance of University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee after questioning Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr., who is currently facing trial for Lee’s murder. Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen stated during his testimony on Tuesday that Lee had been missing for two weeks when Herrington was arrested on July 22, 2022. During two interviews conducted on that day, Herrington provided inconsistent statements about his whereabouts leading up to Lee’s disappearance. McCutchen remarked, “From the moment that we gave Tim Herrington the opportunity to tell the truth and he couldn’t and he lied and we backed that up, we knew then.”
At just 20 years old, Lee was a prominent member of the LGBTQ+ community at Ole Miss and in Oxford. The trial, which is now in its second week, sees Herrington, 24, facing capital murder charges in connection with Lee’s death. Despite the ongoing proceedings, Lee’s body has yet to be recovered, although a judge has officially ruled him deceased. Herrington maintains his innocence, with his attorney, Kevin Horan, arguing that the prosecution has “zero” evidence supporting the claim that Lee was killed.
Investigators provided testimony indicating that Lee had not reached out to any friends or family since his disappearance, and there has been no activity on his financial accounts or social media platforms. Prior to interviewing Herrington, law enforcement had discovered explicit text messages exchanged between him and Lee on the night of July 8, 2022, when Lee went missing.
On the day he vanished, Lee had communicated with his mother, wishing her a happy birthday just hours before his disappearance. Furthermore, records obtained from Google revealed that at 5:56 a.m., Herrington searched online for “how long does it take to strangle someone.” A text message sent from Lee’s phone to Herrington’s social media account was recorded at 6:03 a.m., and the last signal from Lee’s phone was traced to a cellphone tower at 7:28 a.m. McCutchen testified that a security camera captured Herrington jogging out of the parking lot where Lee’s vehicle was later discovered at around 7:30 a.m.
McCutchen expressed the department’s commitment to finding Lee, stating, “We’ve been looking for Jay Lee’s body for two years, and we’re not going to stop ’til we find it.” On the same day that Lee disappeared, Herrington was observed on surveillance footage purchasing duct tape in Oxford and subsequently making a trip to his hometown, which is approximately an hour away.
Herrington hails from a wealthy family in Grenada, Mississippi, located around 52 miles southwest of Oxford. Ryan Baker, an intelligence officer with the Oxford Police Department, testified that Herrington’s grandfather holds a position as a bishop in Grenada, with several family members involved in church activities. During his testimony, Baker noted that Herrington had never publicly identified as gay and that both his father and grandfather stated he had not discussed having boyfriends.
At the time, Herrington was running a furniture moving business with another student, using a white box truck that he drove to Grenada shortly after Lee’s disappearance. Security footage from various locations showed Herrington with the vehicle in Grenada just hours after the incident.
During the Tuesday testimonies, Horan questioned McCutchen regarding the results of DNA tests conducted on items collected from Herrington’s apartment and the truck, specifically asking if any evidence linked his client to Lee’s death. McCutchen responded that no such evidence was found, noting that the apartment had not been searched until two weeks after Lee’s disappearance, while the box truck was examined just days later.
Both Herrington and Lee were graduates of the University of Mississippi, with Lee working towards a master’s degree. He was known for his artistic expression through fashion and makeup and frequently participated in drag performances in Oxford, as highlighted by the support group Justice for Jay Lee. Prosecutors have indicated that they do not intend to seek the death penalty, which means that a conviction for Herrington could result in a life sentence. Under Mississippi law, capital murder involves a killing that occurs in conjunction with another felony, such as kidnapping.
