Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who is charged with the capital murder of UM student Jimmie “Jay” Lee, is no longer facing charges of tampering with physical evidence in relation to Lee’s death.
The decision came from an order by Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Luther on March 7.
Herrington was arraigned and placed into custody for this charge after a Feb. 11 grand jury indictment. The additional charge came after the discovery of Lee’s body by hunters in Carroll County on Feb. 1.
Luther stated in the order that the charge was dropped based on the crime’s two-year statute of limitations, stating in the order that the charge was “time-barred,” according to reporting by Mississippi Today.
Aafram Y. Seller, Herrington’s Jackson-based attorney, filed the motion to dismiss the charges Feb. 25. The prosecution and defense presented arguments on the dismissal of the charge to Luther during the bond hearing held Feb. 27.
Arguments presented by the prosecution included that Herrington tampered with evidence by hiding Lee’s body to prevent its discovery.
In response, Sellers argued that the charge was not within the bounds of the crime’s statute of limitations because the indictment and arrest warrant for the charge were not filed before July 2024.
20-year-old Lee, a 2022 University of Mississippi graduate and prominent figure in the Oxford-Lafayette LGBTQ+ community was last seen at 5:58 a.m. on July 8, 2022 on video surveillance footage leaving Campus Walk Apartments.
Messages between Lee and Herrington the morning of his disappearance show that Herrington requested Lee to come to his home at Lafayette Place Apartments.
Herrington, who is also a graduate of the university, will remain in custody until his trial date which is now set for Oct. 13.
