Man pleads guilty to killing an Ole Miss graduate who was prominent in the LGBTQ+ community

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man charged with killing a University of Mississippi graduate who was prominent in the LGBTQ+ community pleaded guilty on Monday to second-degree murder and tampering charges as he faced a second trial.

Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. entered the plea in the death of Jimmie “Jay” Lee, who disappeared from Oxford, where the university is located, in July 2022. Herrington was arrested two weeks later and eventually charged with capital murder.

A judge declared a mistrial last year when jurors failed to reach a verdict after more than nine and a half hours of deliberation. At the time of the trial, Lee's body had not been found, but a judge had declared him dead.

In February of this year, deer hunters stumbled upon Lee’s skeletal remains in a wooded area, according to Mississippi Today.

During the first trial, prosecutors claimed Herrington, who was not openly gay, killed Lee after the two had a sexual encounter.

Campus cameras showed Lee leaving his apartment shortly before 4 a.m. the day he disappeared. He returned 40 minutes later, before leaving again just before 6 a.m.

Prosecutors allege Lee had been at Herrington’s apartment, and that when Lee had left Herrington’s apartment he was upset. Herrington, they said, invited Lee back and searched “how long does it take to strangle someone" online before Lee arrived.

The final text message from Lee’s phone was sent to a social media account belonging to Herrington at 6:03 a.m. from a spot near Herrington’s apartment, law enforcement testified. Accounts belonging to Herrington and Lee had previously exchanged sexually explicit messages, they said.

Herrington was later captured by surveillance video jogging out of a parking lot where Lee’s car was found. He was also seen picking up a shovel and wheelbarrow at his parents’ house, authorities said.

Herrington is from Grenada, Mississippi, about 52 miles (83.7 kilometers) southwest of Oxford. Lee's body was found in neighboring Carroll County.

Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from the University of Mississippi.

Lee had been pursuing a master's degree. He 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.

Herrington is set to be sentenced on Tuesday.

His lawyers were not immediately available for comment.