A University of Mississippi student who disappeared in 2022 was a happy person who spoke to his mother daily and called her every year to sing Happy Birthday, his mother testified Tuesday in the trial of the man accused of killing her son.
Stephanie Lee of Jackson, Mississippi, said her 20-year-old son, Jimmy “Jay” Lee, texted her around 2 a.m. on July 8, 2022, to wish her a happy birthday. She said she saw the text when she woke up later, and she responded with a smile emoji, expecting to hear from him again. She said he never called.
Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. of Grenada, Mississippi, is charged with murder in the death of Jay Lee, a gay man who was last seen alive in Oxford hours after sending the birthday text to his mother.
Tuesday was the first day of Herrington’s trial in Oxford, and Stephane Lee testified after attorneys made their opening arguments. She said she became concerned when the hours passed and her son didn’t call her to sing for her birthday.
Stephanie Lee said she checked Jay’s phone location, called police multiple times requesting a welfare check for her son, and her oldest child contacted one of Jay’s friends to have that friend check Jay’s apartment.
The friend, Jose’ Reyes, testified Tuesday that he did not find Jay, but said he could hear Jay’s beloved Pomeranian dog, Lexus — nicknamed Lexie — barking inside.
Jay Lee was well known in the LGBTQ+ community at Oxford and the University of Mississippi. His body has not been found. A judge will come in October declared him dead after Lee’s parents requested that statement.
Herrington has maintained his innocence.
An assistant district attorney, Gwen Agho, told jurors Tuesday that Lee was a confident person who dressed the way he wanted and sometimes wore high heels.
“He walked to his own rhythm,” Agho said. “He knew who he was.”
Lee and Herrington saw each other twice in the hours before Lee disappeared, Agho said. She said the men had sexual contact during their first meeting, and Lee was angry when he left Herrington’s apartment.
Herrington invited Lee back — and before Lee arrived, Herrington looked online to see how long it takes to strangle someone, Agho said.
Herrington “was not openly a member of the LGBTQ community,” Agho said.
Herrington’s attorney, Kevin Horan, told jurors that prosecutors have “zero” evidence that Lee was killed or that a crime occurred in Herrington’s apartment or car or in Lee’s car.
“You’re not going to hear anything that supports a finding of homicide or death, period,” Horan said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies used 71 search warrants, and “they have not found a single piece of direct evidence to support this case,” Horan said.
Jurors were chosen Monday in Forrest County, about 250 miles (402 kilometers) south of Oxford. The a trial is being held at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford.
Both Herrington and Lee were graduates of the University of Mississippi. Lee pursued a master’s degree.
Lee was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and often performed in drag shows in Oxford, according to a support group called Justice for Jay Lee.
Horan asked Reyes if Lee dressed “feminine” to attract men.
“He dressed up as Jay Lee,” Reyes said.
Police said cell phone history showed conversations between Herrington and Lee on the morning Lee disappeared. Surveillance footage shows Herrington running from the scene where Lee’s car was found. He was later seen picking up a shovel and a wheelbarrow at his parents’ home, authorities said.
Herrington, a graduate of the University of Mississippi, was arrested two weeks after Lee’s disappearance and released five months later on a $250,000 bond after agreeing to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor. A grand jury indicted him in March 2023.
Prosecutors have announced they do not plan to pursue the death penalty, meaning Herrington could face life in prison if convicted. Mississippi law defines capital murder as a murder committed in conjunction with another crime – in this case, kidnapping.