OXFORD, Miss. (Court TV) — The man accused of murdering a missing University of Mississippi student will face an additional charge after the victim’s body was found.
Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who is on trial in the 2022 death of University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee, enters the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss., Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Antonella Rescigno/The Daily Mississippian via AP, Pool)
Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. was initially charged with murdering Jimmie “Jay” Lee II, who was last seen alive on July 8, 2022. Herrington’s first trial ended in Dec. 2024 with a mistrial when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
A superseding indictment, filed on Feb. 11, adds a charge of tampering with physical evidence to the charge of capital murder Herrington faced at retrial. He was arraigned on the new charge as soon as the indictment was filed on Tuesday.
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While a judge had declared Lee legally dead before Herrington’s first trial, his remains were missing until this month. Hunters found Lee’s remains in a patch of forest at a well-known dumping site for tires and trash, the Mississippi Free Press reported.
In a video posted on social media, Lee’s father, Jimmy Lee Jr., expressed the family’s gratitude and relief after his son’s remains were found. “We’re just thankful that he’s here and we know where he is now,” Lee said. “Our thought process is justice now. We’re hoping and praying that justice will prevail.”
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Prosecutors said at Herrington’s first trial that the two had been in a sexual relationship at the time of the murder, and suggested that Herrington killed the victim to hide his sexual orientation. The victim, a student at the University of Mississippi, was a well-known member of the LGBTQ+ community.
