Trial date set for man accused of murdering Mississippi university student who remains missing since July 2022
Published 6:00 am Tuesday, November 7, 2023
A trial date has been set for the man accused of murdering an Ole Miss student who went missing in July 2022. The remains of Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee have never been found.
Timothy Herrington’s capital murder trial has been set for Oct. 15, 2024, according to a report from WMC Action News 5 in Memphis.
Herrington was indicted in March 2023 on the charge of capital murder.
Herrington Jr. faces a capital murder charge for the suspected killing of Lee, whose body has yet to be found after his July 8 disappearance. Lee was well-known in the LGBTQ community of the town of Oxford, and his disappearance sparked fear among students and residents.
Herrington was arrested two weeks after Lee vanished. Lee was last seen at an apartment complex in Oxford. In August, Judge Grady F. Tollison III initially denied bond for Herrington.
Herrington has maintained his innocence since being charged.
Police say they viewed social media conversations on Herrington’s phone that showed conversations between him and Lee on the morning of July 8. They added that Herrington did numerous computer searches about international travel, and they found Google searches for “how long it takes to strangle someone” minutes after Lee reportedly told Herrington he was on his way to the apartment.
Oxford Police say the investigation into Lee’s disappearance and presumed death remains under investigation.
“We have not stopped looking for the location of Jimmy ‘Jay’ Lee. If you have any information, please contact the Oxford Police Department at 662-232-2400 or CrimeStoppers at 662-234-8477,” the police wrote in a press release when Herrington was indicted.