Ole Miss student was legally declared dead before accused murderer's trial

More than two years after a University of Mississippi student disappeared, a Lafayette County judge has declared him dead.

Jimmie “Jay” Lee, a 20-year-old remembered as a popular member of Oxford’s LGBTQ+ community, was last seen on July 8, 2022. Court documents show his parents filed a petition for a declaration of legal death in Lafayette County District Court in September. According to multiple reports, the request was recently approved.

Jimmie and Stephanie Lee, parents of Jimmie “Jay” Lee, filed the petition under the “Zeb Hughes Act,” which went into effect July 1 and allows family members who have experienced a “catastrophic event affecting the person of a “exposed to imminent danger or danger,” not having to wait the usual seven years after a person’s disappearance to petition the court for dying status. The Lees reiterated in the filing that they had not heard from their son since his disappearance.

Lee's alleged killer, Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington, Jr., will go on trial next month after several sequels. Herrington, 23, was arrested on July 22, 2022 and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Lee's sudden disappearance. Investigators in the case reported that Herrington and Lee had had a close relationship before Lee's disappearance. Prosecutors argue Herrington killed Lee to cover up the relationship.

According to court documents from previous hearings, investigators discovered that Herrington had gone to Google on his computer to search “How long does it take to strangle someone?” Just moments after Lee told Herrington that he would come to his apartment on the last day Lee was seen by anyone else. Video surveillance showed Herrington fleeing the Oxford apartment complex, where Lee's car was later found, before he was picked up by a friend at a nearby gas station.

Detective Ryan Baker of the Oxford Police Department added that cadaver dogs were alerted to the smell of a body in Herrington's apartment four times, twice in his car and once in a box truck he had access to. However, no body has been found to date. Herrington's legal team has argued that the dogs have not been vetted for the discovery of human remains as they continue to proclaim their client's innocence.

Although Herrington was initially denied bail, a lawsuit against the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department for unlawful imprisonment resulted in Herrington being released with an ankle monitor. His legal team is led by State Representative Kevin Horan, a lawyer from Grenada.

The trial is scheduled for December 2, 2024 in Lafayette County. The jury will most likely come from other parts of the state, as Herrington's team has previously argued that a fair trial cannot be conducted within county boundaries. The jury will be sequestered for the duration of the trial, which is expected to last up to two weeks.