Reese Anderson
Saturday, July 8 marked a year since University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee disappeared. A 2022 graduate and prominent member of the Oxford queer community, Lee was last seen leaving his home at Campus Walk Apartments.
Digital forensic evidence overwhelmingly suggests that another former Ole Miss student, Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., with whom prosecutors have suggested Lee shared a sexual relationship, was the last person to see Lee. At 6:04 a.m. on July 8, Lee messaged Herrington to open his front door at Lafayette Place Apartments. This is the last location Lee’s phone was recorded.
Herrington, the chief suspect in the case, has since been indicted for capital murder. In December 2022, Herrington was released on bond after filing a lawsuit against Lafayette County alleging wrongful imprisonment.
Although a trial date has not been set, lead prosecutor on the case and Assistant District Attorney Steve Jubera said that it will likely occur early next year.
“We are looking to set a trial date in early 2024,” Jubera said.
Lee’s body has yet to be recovered. No updates on his whereabouts have been shared by Oxford Police Department or other local law enforcement agencies since July 2022.
Even without remains, Jubera is confident that a conviction is possible. He pointed toward the success rate of “no body” murders that go to trial.
“Statistics show that if you’re able to get the case to a trial from the jury, those cases are often successfully prosecuted,” Jubera said.
Of the 576 no body murder cases in U.S. history, 70% have resulted in convictions according to Tad DiBiase, former assistant U.S. attorney and specialist in no body homicides.
Jubera also emphasized the importance of finding Lee’s body, regardless of Herrington’s conviction.
“We want to bring him home. We want to give the family comfort. Those are all things that we’re looking for and we’ve never ignored any lead,” Jubera said.
Snapchat location data placed Lee in the vicinity of Herrington’s apartment for the last time at 6:12 am.
Herrington was then seen buying duct tape at Walmart at 6:41 a.m. After police searched Herrington’s parents’ house in Grenada, video footage was uncovered of him taking a long-handle shovel and wheelbarrow from his parents’ house and loading it into the back of a box truck.
Jubera said that OPD conducted a thorough search for Lee, which they continue on a tip-by-tip basis.
“Law enforcement did an extensive search, and if there are any further tips that come forward, obviously they will be followed up on, just like any other tips that have come forward regarding Jay’s body,” he said.
Activists for Lee aren’t convinced and have repeatedly called for more transparency around the investigation into Lee’s disappearance.
OUTLaw is an organization of LGBTQIA+ University of Mississippi law students that advocates for queer rights.
“OUTLaw calls for more transparency regarding the search efforts for Jay Lee and the prosecution of Herrington,” the organization said in an Instagram post.
Kayleigh Breisch, a member of the Justice for Jay Lee activist group, called law enforcements’ efforts to search for Lee into question in “The Weekly Scoop” podcast with The Daily Mississippian on March 22.
“We realized that the Oxford officials were not really doing anything to find Jay,” Breisch said.
Breisch also noted potential conflicts of interest, citing a letter the Grenada County Sheriff Rolando Fair wrote on Herrington’s behalf. Fair was one of several dozen to write a letter of support to the Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge Gray Tollison for Herrington.
“Sheldon and Tina Herrington are members of various organizations that have helped and changed so many people’s lives. I have also known Sheldon Timothy Herrington, Jr. since he was a small child, never (sic) had any problems with him,” Fair wrote.
A representative from Justice for Jay Lee spoke to The Daily Mississippian in July.
“The Oxford Police Department affirms that they haven’t stopped looking for Jay Lee, who they claim is somewhere between Lafayette and Grenada counties. After a year with no updates and Jay Lee still missing, it’s hard for our community to believe that they are truly doing their best work,” the organizer said.
OPD declined to give comment on the investigation or search for Lee’s body.
Kevin Horan, Herrington’s primary defense attorney, declined to provide comment to The Daily Mississippian. Herrington did not respond to The Daily Mississippian’s request for comment.
“The LGBT community in Oxford has felt it really deeply, because we don’t feel safe anymore in Oxford,” Breisch said on the podcast. “Our officials are not willing to protect LGBT people to the same extent that they would other people in the community.”
Breisch affirmed that Justice for Jay Lee will continue to hold protests and spark discussion about the trial.
“We’re not gonna stop protesting. We’re gonna encourage the prosecution to actually find our friend and not just push for a conviction,” Breisch said.
