A judge announced a mistrial on Wednesday in the case involving Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr., who is accused of the 2022 murder of Jimmy “Jay” Lee, an openly gay individual well-known within the LGBTQ+ community at the University of Mississippi.
Jurors declared that they could not agree on a verdict after more than nine and a half hours of deliberation.
Although Lee’s body has not been found, the court has officially declared him deceased. Herrington, 24, displayed minimal emotion as he exited the courtroom alongside his legal team and family members. He continues to remain on bond while facing charges of capital murder, defined by Mississippi law as a homicide occurring in conjunction with another crime—specifically, kidnapping in this case. Prosecutors indicated that they will not pursue the death penalty; hence, if he is retried and found guilty, he could face a life sentence.
During the trial, jurors were also presented with the option to consider lesser charges, including first-degree murder, which can lead to life imprisonment; second-degree murder, punishable by 20 years to life; or manslaughter, for which the maximum sentence is 20 years.
Circuit Judge Kelly Luther stated that he will discuss the possibility of a new trial with both the prosecution and defense.
Both individuals graduated from the University of Mississippi, with Lee, aged 20, pursuing a master’s degree. He had gained recognition for his talent in fashion and makeup as well as his performances in drag shows in Oxford, as noted by a support organization named Justice for Jay Lee.
Lee was reported missing on July 8, 2022, in Oxford, the location of the university where the trial took place. Herrington was arrested two weeks later. Testimonies from investigators revealed that search warrants were utilized to acquire electronic records, which included explicit messages exchanged between the two men as well as online searches made by Herrington, such as one query regarding the time required to strangle a person.
During their closing arguments on Wednesday, prosecutors asserted that Herrington and Lee had a sexual encounter that turned problematic, leading Lee to leave Herrington’s apartment. They claimed that text messages indicated Herrington, who had not publicly identified as gay, convinced Lee to return under the pretext of further sexual activity. Prosecutors concluded that Lee was murdered upon his return.
“Tim Herrington was living a deception,” said District Attorney Ben Creekmore. “He deceived Jay Lee to lure him back, promising a rendezvous.”
Herrington’s defense attorney, Kevin Horan, contended that there was no proof of Lee’s death since a body was never located. Horan emphasized to jurors that text messages indicated that it was Lee who initiated the conversation and not Herrington.
Investigators testified that since the day Lee vanished, he had not communicated with any friends or family, nor had there been any financial activity or social media posting from him—a stark contrast to his previous behavior.
Following Lee’s disappearance, Herrington was arrested two weeks later. During interviews with authorities, he offered inconsistent accounts regarding the time leading to Lee’s vanishing, according to Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen.
Before Herrington’s questioning, officers had already acquired finding explicit messages exchanged between the social media accounts of both individuals during the hours preceding Lee’s disappearance.
Evidence obtained through a warrant showed Herrington conducted a search querying “how long does it take to strangle someone” at 5:56 a.m., as testified by University Police Department Sgt. Benjamin Douglas last week. Furthermore, the last text message sent from Lee’s phone was directed to Herrington’s social media account at 6:03 a.m., located near Herrington’s apartment. A cellphone tower later tracked Lee’s phone signal to another Oxford area just before 7:30 a.m. Subsequently, investigators noted security camera footage capturing Herrington jogging away from a parking lot where Lee’s car had been left.
On the day Lee disappeared, Herrington was also recorded on surveillance cameras purchasing duct tape in Oxford and driving to his hometown of Grenada, around an hour south of Oxford, as confirmed by police testimony.
In the courtroom, Herrington’s family members sat behind him, while Lee’s family was positioned behind the prosecutors. Upon declaring the mistrial, Judge Luther instructed both families to exit separately.
Jurors were selected from a different county approximately 250 miles (402 kilometers) south of the trial location and were presented with evidence and arguments over eight days.
The judge urged jurors to keep deliberating when they expressed being deadlocked, but after their third communication of the sort, he ultimately declared the mistrial and expressed gratitude for their service, acknowledging, “I have asked a lot of you.”
