OXFORD — A Lafayette County judge has delayed the retrial in the murder case of University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee, with jury selection now set for Dec. 1 following a change of venue, court records show.
Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who previously faced a December 2024 trial that ended in a hung jury, will again stand trial on capital murder charges. Prosecutors allege that Herrington killed Lee, who disappeared in July 2022 and was declared dead after his remains were found in February 2025 in Carroll County.
The judge granted a motion to change venue to ensure impartiality. Though the trial remains in Oxford, prospective jurors will be drawn from an undisclosed neighboring county and transported to Lafayette County for trial proceedings.
Lee, 20, a graduate student known for his involvement in the Ole Miss LGBTQ+ community, was last seen leaving his campus apartment in early July 2022. Investigators presented phone and video evidence suggesting contact with Herrington that morning, including sexually explicit messages and surveillance footage.
The first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked 11 to 1 in a verdict. The lone juror cited the absence of Lee’s body at the time as a reason for doubt.
Prosecutors previously said they would not seek the death penalty against Herrington, meaning that if convicted, he would face a possible life sentence.
