Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. has been indicted by a grand jury on the charge of capital murder for his involvement in the death of Ole Miss student Jimmy “Jay” Lee on July 8, 2022, in Oxford. If Herrington stands trial and is found guilty, he faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

The indictment comes after months of silence from local law enforcement officials about the status of the case against Herrington. 

A special grand jury heard the case against Herrington in Oxford on Monday, according to reporting from Mississippi Today. A special grand jury differs from a regular grand jury chiefly because the jurors hear one case as opposed to multiple, which is typical for a regular grand jury term. 

On Tuesday, the grand jury returned a true bill, indicating that the jurors found that there was sufficient evidence to charge Herrington with capital murder. 

“The grand jurors of the state of Mississippi … present that Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr …. on or about July 8 and within the jurisdiction of this Court did unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously, without authority of law, kill and murder Jimmy Dale “Jay” Lee III,” reads the jury’s indictment of Herrington. 

Specifically, the grand jury found Herrington to have violated section 97-3-19(2)(e) of the Mississippi Code, or murder during the commission of a felony. The grand jury is accusing Herrington of murdering Lee while he was engaged in the act of kidnapping. 

Currently, it remains unclear what, if any, new information was presented by prosecutors during the grand jury hearing, as grand jury proceedings are closed to the public. 

This is a developing story.