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Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. enters the Lafayette County Courthouse for a hearing in Oxford, Miss. on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Herrington has been charged with murder in the case of Jimmie “Jay” Lee.
Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. enters the Lafayette County Courthouse for a hearing in Oxford, Miss. on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Herrington has been charged with murder in the case of Jimmie “Jay” Lee.
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OXFORD • Shortly before an Ole Miss student went missing on July 8, the man accused of killing him Googled, “How long does it take to strangle someone?”
Timmy Herrington, 22, of Grenada, is charged with first degree murder in the death of Jimmie “Jay” Lee, 21, of Oxford, whose body has not been found.
Following a nearly six-hour long preliminary hearing on Tuesday in Lafayette County Circuit Court, Judge Gray Tollison ordered Herrington held without bond.
“Based on the evidence presented, there is probable cause that a felony was committed and I agree that the case should be bound over (to the grand jury),” Tollison said. “As to bond, the proof is evident and the presumption great that the defendant committed first degree murder. Bond is denied.”
Authorities have said little about the case, even following Herrington's arrest more than two weeks ago. But during the preliminary hearing, Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Kilpatrick laid out most of the state’s case against Herrington.
Officials said the two men had a casual sexual relationship, but things went awry. Investigators claim Herrington strangled Lee and then disposed of the body. Oxford police detective Ryan Baker said the men “hooked up” in the early morning hours of July 8, but an argument ensued following the sexual encounter. That led Lee to leave and to block Herrington on social media.
During a Snapchat exchange where Herrington used a new account that Lee did not recognize, the men appeared to reconcile. At 5:54 a.m. Lee said that he was headed to Herrington’s apartment.
Two minutes later, Herrington allegedly Googled, “How long does it take to strangle someone?”
Lee messaged Herrington at 6:03 a.m. to open the door because he was there. It is the last action of a man who was very active on numerous digital social platforms.
During Baker’s three hours on the stand, he detailed a myriad of surveillance videos around that show Lee leaving his apartment.
Authorities believe Herrington drove Lee’s car to the Molly Barr Trail apartment complex. Minutes after the car was parked, Herrington is seen on video running from the apartment. He was picked up by a friend at a nearby gas station.
Later that morning, Herrington drove a box truck to his parents’ house in Grenada where he was seen picking up a long-handled shovel and a wheelbarrow.
Herrington was arrested on July 22 after being interviewed at the Oxford Police Department. During a simultaneous search of his apartment, a cadaver dog from the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office reportedly alerted four times to the smell of decaying flesh — three times in the bedroom and once in the kitchen-living room area.
Authorities have still not found Lee's body, but believe he is dead.
“In 2022, you don’t need a body. It’s not the 1870s,” Kilpatrick said, noting that prior to July 8, Lee was extremely active on social media and called his mother multiple times per day. “We have proved that he is no longer with us.”
She feels Lee’s body has been disposed of somewhere between Oxford and Grenada.
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