A University of Mississippi graduate who disappeared more than two years ago has been pronounced dead, but his body has not been found.
Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee, who used he/her pronouns, was last seen driving from his campus apartment in Oxford to Molly Barr Trails on July 8, 2022.
The 20-year-old was supposedly going to meet Sheldon ‘Timothy’ Herrington, 23, who has been accused of murdering Lee.
The two allegedly had a discreet sexual relationship. Officials claimed Herrington strangled Lee and disposed of his body.
He was arrested in July 2022 on a charge of first-degree murder. But in March of the following year, his charge was raised to capital murder, Diary reported. Herrington has been free on $250,000 bail since December 2022.
Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee, 20, was a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi when he disappeared.
Lee was declared dead by the court after his parents filed a motion in September.
If convicted of capital murder, one can face life in prison or the death penalty. The trial will begin in December.
Police suspected Herrington because there were conversations between him and Lee the day he disappeared.
In particular, authorities said they found that Herrington Googled “how long does it take to strangle someone” before seeing Lee, the Mississippi Free Press reported.
Surveillance images and body fluids found by investigators were also taken into account when charging the 23-year-old.
At the time of his disappearance, his friend Lakiowa Milan told him WREG: ‘He is very energetic, pleasant and friendly. Will talk to anyone. He’s kind of the life of the party. Very sweet.
“So it’s unfortunate that something like this happened so close to home.”
Sheldon ‘Timothy’ Herrington, 23, has been charged with capital murder one in connection with Lee’s disappearance.
Lee was a well-known figure on campus before he disappeared.
Lee was described by the University of Mississippi student newspaper, The Mississippi Journalas “a well-known member of Oxford’s queer community.”
Lee’s heartbroken parents, Jimmie and Stephanie, filed a motion in September to have their son declared legally dead by the Lafayette County Circuit Court.
Normally, family members involved in such an uncertain situation have to wait seven years before requesting that a missing person be declared dead.
But the Zeb Hughes Act, which went into effect in July, in the case of a “catastrophic event that exposes the person to danger or imminent danger,” an exception can be made, according to the Daily Journal.
Lee was last seen leaving his campus apartment to meet Herrington on park trails.
Lee’s death was listed 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 in unusual 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 that these cases are unusual but not impossible,” he added.
Ballin said new technology and digital evidence make it possible to prosecute this unique case, but it may not be easy.
Without Lee’s body, there is still a possibility of prosecuting Herrington using new technology, said criminal defense attorney Blake Ballin.
He said, “You’re going to want to insist on the fact 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 has died?
Defense attorney Kevin Horan filed a 134-page motion in June to have his trial moved somewhere other than northeast Mississippi, citing the possibility of a biased jury. Advocate reported.
No decision has yet been made about moving the trial site.