Surveillance footage showed him wearing just his sleep clothes, suggesting he didn’t plan to be gone for long.
Sadly, he never returned.
His abandoned car was found the next day, with his wallet and keys still inside.
Nearly three years after his disappearance, hunters found Lee's dead body miles away from his apartment
Criminal Investigators say he was killed and they have now linked Jaylee's death to a man named Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr.
Police say both men were in a hidden sexual relationship which later turned violent and deadly.
Let's get into the details
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| Jimmie "Jay" Lee |
Background of the Case
Jimmie "Jay" Lee was a 20-year-old graduate student at the University of Mississippi.
At the time of his death, he was pursuing a master’s degree in social work.
Jay was also an active member of Oxford’s LGBTQ+ community.
He was described by friends and family as vibrant, outgoing, and deeply connected to his loved ones.
He lived at the Campus Walk apartments near the university and was known for his close relationship with his mother, Stephanie, whom he spoke to daily.
His social media posts showed his lively personality, and he was often seen at local events, surrounded by friends.
But behind the scenes, Jay was involved in a secret romantic relationship with another man, Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr.
Herrington was a 22-year-old from Grenada, Mississippi, who came from a prominent local family.
His grandfather was a well-known pastor and his parents were respected members of their community.
Timothy Herrington Jr was also a University of Mississippi graduate.
He co-owned a moving business and assisted his grandfather with rental properties.
Publicly, he presented himself as a man who was only interested in women but criminal investigations later revealed he was hiding his real sexuality.
His messages with Jay showed a relationship that was both intimate and, at times, volatile.
According to police reports, Jay wanted to end their secret relationship, and that's when things turned deadly.
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| Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. |
Jimmie "Jay" Lee's Disappearance
Jimmie Jay Lee mysteriously vanished on the morning of July 8, 2022.
He drove out of his apartment around 5:58 am wearing just a silver robe, gold cap, and slippers.
He didn't take his dog Lexus, which was strange because he never went anywhere without her.
This also suggested that Jay didn't plan to spend much time outside.
Sadly, Jay never came back alive.
When Jay didn't call his mother Stephanie for her birthday like he always did, she immediately knew something was wrong.
She called his friends who quickly went to his apartment and found Lexus inside, barking and alone.
They also noticed that Jay's car - a black Ford Fusion was gone too.
His friends and family immediately suspected foul play so they reported him missing to the local police department.
The next day, Jay's car was found abandoned at another apartment complex nearby.
His wallet and keys were still inside, but Jay and his phone were missing.
His family and friends put up missing posters all over town and organized search groups to look for him.
His parents even went on TV begging for help in finding their son Jay
For almost three years, no one knew what happened to Jay.
Then in February 2025, some deer hunters found a dead body in the woods of Carroll County.
Forensic experts tested the remains and dental records confirmed it was Jay, as reported by Independent news
Finding Jay's body gave his family some answers and partial closure.
But it also revealed one terrible truth—he didn't just vanish, someone murdered him.
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| Jimmie Jay Lee during his graduation |
The Criminal Investigation That Followed
Before Jay Lee's body was found, the local police department had already started an investigation into his disappearance.
The first clue came from Jay’s phone records and iCloud.
Detectives found Snapchat messages between Jay and someone using the name "RedEye24" on the morning he disappeared.
According to police reports, the messages showed that Jay was nervous but agreed to meet this person one last time that morning.
His final text message before he vanished just said, "Open."
Police believe this last text meant Jay had arrived at the person's place that morning and was telling them to open the door.
Police eventually traced the "RedEye24" account to Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr.
When they looked deeper, they found messages that showed both men were in a hidden relationship—something Herrington clearly didn’t want anyone to know about.
When detectives questioned Herrington, his story kept changing.
First, he said he barely knew Jay.
He later admitted they were in a relationship and that they were together that night.
However, he claimed Jay left his apartment alive.
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| Jimmie Jay Lee |
Police became suspicious of Herrington’s story so they decided to retrace his movements the day Jay went missing.
Multiple cameras caught Herrington making strange stops that morning:
1) CCTV at a Walmart store captured him buying duct tape and latex gloves
2) He was caught on multiple cameras driving his family’s moving truck to remote areas
3) He was seen carrying a shovel and wheelbarrow from his parents’ house later that day.
The most chilling discovery came from Herrington’s phone after forensic investigations.
Right before Jay went missing that morning, Herrington made some disturbing Google searches including:
- "How long does it take to strangle someone?"
- "Can you be charged with murder without a body?"
Also, his phone's GPS records further implicated him.
It pinged near where Jay’s car was dumped and later in the woods where Jay’s body would eventually be found.
For months, police searched those areas but found nothing until the deer hunters discovered Jamie's body.
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| Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr arriving at court |
The Legal Battle: Justice for Jay Lee
Even though Jay Lee's body was still missing at the time, police arrested and charged Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr with capital murder in 2022.
The trial took place in December 2024, nearly two and a half years after Jay's disappearance.
Prosecutors argued that Herrington killed Jay to keep their secret relationship hidden.
They relied on overwhelming evidence like Herrington's incriminating Google searches, surveillance footage of him buying duct tape, and inconsistencies in his statements to police.
However, the defense disagreed, calling the evidence circumstantial.
They emphasized the lack of physical and concrete evidence - no murder weapon, no body, no blood, and no definitive crime scene.
After nine hours of deliberation, the jury ended in a deadlock with 11 members voting to convict and one juror refusing to agree.
Due to this, the judge had no choice but to declare a mistrial, leaving Jay's family heartbroken and the case in limbo.
However, everything changed in February 2025 when hunters discovered Jay's body.
According to authorities, Herrington's phone records placed him near that exact location around the time Jay disappeared
This critical discovery has given prosecutors new evidence to work with.
Armed with this new evidence, a grand jury indicted Herrington again in February 2025.
This time they added a charge of tampering with physical evidence for allegedly moving and hiding Jay's body.
However, in a legal setback, the judge dismissed the tampering charge because prosecutors had missed the two-year deadline to file it.
Now, the case is set for a retrial in October 2025.
For Jay's family and friends, this is another opportunity to see justice served for the vibrant young man whose life was cut so tragically short.
Got a tip about a crime? Please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS immediately.
You can also see how to report a crime anonymously online if you wish to remain anonymous.
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