One vibrant Mississippi college student lived his life unapologetically and out loud. But the man who would eventually end it lived in the shadows. When Jimmie “Jay” Lee— who was openly gay— suddenly vanished in July 2022, authorities didn’t know yet that his disappearance wasn’t a random tragedy, but a calculated execution designed to bury a truth his gay lover couldn’t bear to let the world see.
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Lee, a 20-year-old University of Mississippi student, was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and was a prominent figure in the Oxford LGBTQ+ community. He was involved in a sexual relationship with Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr., a 25-year-old fellow Ole Miss student from a prominent family. While Lee was open with his sexuality, prosecutors claimed Herrington’s alleged desire to keep his sexual relationship with him on the low turned deadly.
Herrington, according to the Associated Press, had searched online: “how long does it take to strangle someone” before allegedly luring Lee over to his apartment promising sex on July 8, 2022. He was also caught on a store’s security footage buying duct tape and a shovel. Prosecutors said later that day Lee’s car was found, but he was not.
His body had not been recovered when Herrington was arrested two weeks later and charged with capital murder. A judge declared him dead, assuming someone killed him, per the AP. But because a single juror refused to convict him without a body, Herrington walked free due to a mistrial.
Fast forward to February 2025, hunters in Carroll County discovered Lee’s skeletal remains in a wooded gully (where people have been known to illegally dump trash) nearly three years after he went missing. Lee’s cause of death couldn’t be determined in part because of the decomposition of his body, which were skeletal with no soft tissue, Carroll County Coroner Mark Stiles said according to Mississippi Today.
Confronted with the evidence of the remains and a looming retrial, Herrington finally stopped running. He was indicted again and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in December 2025, per CBS News.
Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Luther sentenced Herrington to 30 years for second-degree murder and 10 years for tampering with evidence.
Judge Luther claimed that Herrington assumed because Lee “lived a lifestyle that was different from most people in Mississippi,” his death wouldn’t be a priority, per The Clarion-Ledger. However, Luther said Herrington was wrong and that “Mississippi got it right this time.”
Gwen Agho, a special prosecutor in the case, called Lee’s murder a tragedy. “All of this happened to cover something up,” Agho said. “And everyone found out anyways.”
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