Haunting update in case of Ole Miss student who vanished in 2022

A University of Mississippi graduate who went missing more than two years ago was declared dead, but his body has not been found.

Jimmie “Jay” Lee — who used he/him pronouns — was last seen driving from his campus apartment in Oxford to Molly Barr Trails on July 8, 2022.

The 20-year-old was scheduled to meet Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington, 23, who is accused of killing Lee.

The two are said to have had a sexual relationship under the radar. Officials alleged that Herrington strangled Lee and disposed of his body.

He was arrested in July 2022 on charges of first-degree murder. But in March the following year, his charge was upgraded to murder. Daily Journal reported. Herrington has been on a $250,000 bond as of December 2022.

Lee was declared dead by the court after his parents filed a request in September

If a person is found guilty of capital murder, he may receive a life sentence or the death penalty. The trial starts in December.

Police suspected Herrington because there were conversations between him and Lee the day he went missing.

Specifically, authorities said they discovered Herrington had Googled “how long does it take to strangle someone” before seeing Lee, the Mississippi Free Press reported.

Surveillance footage and bodily fluids found by investigators were also taken into account in the charges against the 23-year-old.

At the time of his disappearance, his friend Lakiowa told Milan WREG: ‘He’s really energetic, nice, friendly. He will talk to everyone. He’s kind of the life of the party. Really sweet.

“So it’s just a shame that something like this happened so close to home.”

Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington, 23, has been charged with capital one murder in connection with Lee’s disappearance

Lee was a well-known campus figure before he went missing

Lee was described by the University of Mississippi student newspaper: The Daily Mississippianas ‘a well-known member of Oxford’s gay community.’

Lee’s heartbroken parents, Jimmie and Stephanie, filed a motion in September to have their son declared legally dead in Lafayette County Circuit Court.

Typically, family members involved in a situation of such uncertainty must wait seven years before requesting the death of a missing person.

But Zeb Hughes’ Law, which went into effect in July, could make an exception in the event of a “catastrophic event that exposes the person to imminent danger,” according to the Daily Journal.

Lee was last seen leaving his campus apartment to meet Herrington via park trails

Lee’s death was reported as such. The document, officially issued in October, ordered the state to issue Lee a death certificate.

Without a body, Herrington’s trial will take place under extraordinary circumstances.

“You let your imagination run wild,” said criminal defense attorney Blake Ballin, who was not involved in the case WREG. “There are many different ways the state can still prove someone is dead even if they can’t produce a body.”

“You know these cases are unusual, but not impossible,” he added.

Ballin said new technology and digital evidence will make prosecuting this unique case possible, but it may not be easy.

Without Lee’s body, there is still a chance to prosecute Herrington using new technology, criminal defense attorney Blake Ballin said.

He said, ‘You’re probably going to want to hammer home the point that there’s no body here.

‘How do you know this person is missing? How do you know they don’t want to be found? What evidence is there that this person even died?”

Attorney Kevin Horan filed a 134-page motion in June to have his trial moved somewhere other than Northeast Mississippi, alleging the possibility of a biased jury. Supporter reported.

No decision has yet been made about the relocation of the test location.