OXFORD , Miss. (AP) — A man is set to go on trial starting this week in the 2022 killing of a University of Mississippi student who was well-known in the local LGBTQ+ community.
Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. of Grenada, Mississippi, is charged with capital murder in the death of Jimmy “Jay” Lee, 20, who was last seen July 8, 2022, at an apartment complex in Oxford.
Lee's body has not been found. In October, a judge declared him dead after Lee's parents requested that declaration.
Herrington has maintained his innocence.
Jury selection began Monday in Forrest County, about 250 miles (402 kilometers) south of Oxford. The trial is scheduled to be held at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford.
Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from the University of Mississippi. Lee was pursuing a master's degree.
Lee was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and often performed in drag shows in Oxford, according to a support group called Justice for Jay Lee.
Police said cellphone history showed conversations between Herrington and Lee the morning that Lee disappeared. They said Herrington also searched online about international travel and “how long it takes to strangle someone” minutes after Lee said he was on his way to Herrington’s apartment.
Surveillance video recorded Herrington running from where Lee’s car was found, and he was later seen picking up a shovel and wheelbarrow at his parents’ house, authorities said.
Lee, who was from Jackson, unsuccessfully ran for homecoming king in 2021 on a platform of “self love and knowing your truth,” The Daily Mississippian reported.
“Ole Miss embraces so many different cultures and backgrounds,” Lee said.
Herrington, who had graduated from the university, was arrested two weeks after Lee vanished, then released five months later on a $250,000 bond after agreeing to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor. A grand jury in March 2023 indicted him on a capital murder charge.
Prosecutors have announced they do not intend to pursue the death penalty, meaning he could get a life sentence if convicted. Mississippi law defines capital murder as a killing committed along with another felony — in this case, kidnapping.