JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to killing a University of Mississippi graduate student was sentenced to a total of 50 years in prison with 10 years suspended on Tuesday.
Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and tampering in the death of Jimmie “Jay” Lee, a gay man who was prominent in the LGBTQ+ community. Herrington, 25, entered the plea on Monday at the beginning of his second trial.
Herrington, who is also an Ole Miss graduate, was originally charged with capital murder, but prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge to second-degree murder.
He was sentenced to 40 years with 10 years suspended, meaning he will serve 30 years, for second-degree murder. He received another 10 years for tampering. The sentences will run consecutively for 40 years total, and he will be subject to 10 years of post-release supervision.
Herrington's lawyers were not immediately available for comment.
Prosecutors have alleged Herrington and 20-year-old Lee, who disappeared in July 2022, had a sexual relationship. They claim Herrington, who was not openly gay, killed Lee to keep their relationship secret.
“All of this happened to cover something up, and everyone found out anyways," said Gwen Ago, the deputy chief assistant district attorney at the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office.
Ago, who assisted with the case, called the killing a tragedy both for Lee and Herrington.
“If he had felt that same love and acceptance that Jay’s family provided to him," she said of Herrington. "Maybe we wouldn’t be here today.”
Stephanie Lee, Jay Lee's mother, broke down during a press conference after the sentencing, recalling the day her son didn't answer his phone.
“I knew. I knew in my heart,” she said, thanking law enforcement for their work on the case.
Lee's father announced he his pushing to pass a bill in his son's honor. He said the bill would prevent phone, social media and communication companies from refusing to give law enforcement, parents or guardians the login information for accounts belonging to individuals who are age 21 or younger and declared missing.
He said law enforcement had difficulty getting his son's login information from Apple. Had the information been provided more quickly, he believes Herrington would have had less time to hide his son's body.
Deer hunters stumbled upon Lee's skeletal remains in February of this year, roughly 2 1/2 years after he was last seen, according to Mississippi Today.
The remains were found in a wooded area in Carroll County. Herrington is from neighboring Grenada County. After Lee's disappearance, Herrington was seen picking up a shovel and wheelbarrow at his parents’ house, authorities said.
The discovery of Lee's remains came a couple of months after a judge declared a mistrial in a capital murder case against Herrington.
During the first trial, prosecutors claimed Herrington 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 when Lee left, 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 arrested two weeks later.
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.