The trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. — who is charged with capital murder in the death of Jimmie “Jay” Lee — continued through the weekend with further testimony, cross-examination of witnesses and the jury taking a bus tour of locations relevant to the trial.
Lee, 20, was a prominent figure in the Oxford-Lafayette LGBTQ+ community who graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2022. He was last seen on video surveillance footage at 5:58 a.m. on July 8, 2022, leaving Campus Walk Apartments.
Friday
Former Oxford Police Department Lt. Shane Fortner detailed Herrington’s statements during a police interview conducted at Herrington’s residence on July 22, 2022, according to reports from FOX 13 Memphis. OPD body camera footage from the interview played in court and showed that Herrington denied having a sexual relationship with Lee and stated that he had not seen Lee “since he has been gone,” according to the Clarion Ledger.
Fortner testified that prior to this interview, OPD had obtained access to Snapchat conversations between Herrington and Lee that contained explicit messages and confirmed an early-morning encounter between the two on July 8, according to the Clarion Ledger.
Fortner also testified that in this police interview on July 22, Herrington said Lee might have “went and had casual sex with somebody and they kidnapped him.” Fortner said this stood out because no other witness or source had suggested this is what happened to Lee, according to the Clarion Ledger.
A second interrogation played in court on Friday showed Herrington correcting or clarifying much of what he told authorities in the interview prior to his arrest, according to the Clarion Ledger. Herrington said he and Lee had a “deeper relationship” that was sexual in nature and that the two had sexual contact the morning of July 8. Herrington also said he and Lee communicated through Snapchat that morning.
Leslie Christian, Renasant Bank financial crime supervisor, was called to the stand by the prosecution to testify that an ATM transaction from Herrington’s account at the bank’s Grenada location was recorded at 6:55 p.m. on July 8, 2022.
Dana Hood, the manager of Family Time Cleaners in Grenada in July 2022, also testified, according to the Clarion Ledger. Hood said she received a call from Herrington asking for a copy of a receipt for a suit. In cross-examination, Hood confirmed Herrington had an account with the dry cleaners and that it was not unusual for Herrington to go there regularly.
Thomas Klinck, a neighbor of the Herrington family in Grenada, testified that his home’s surveillance system captured Herrington using a wheelbarrow near a white box truck on July 8, according to AP News. Klinck said he could not recall whether the wheelbarrow was loaded into the truck. He also said that Herrington often loaded garden equipment or lawn mowers into vehicles.
Saturday
During Saturday’s court proceedings Horan cross examined Fortner.
Horan said that communication between Lee and Herrington occurred earlier in the morning on July 8 — at approximately 2:54 a.m. when Lee messaged Herrington “You in Oxford?” according to the Clarion Ledger. Horan said that Herrington never responded to this message.
According to Fortner’s testimony, three outgoing calls from Herrington to Lee occurred the morning of July 8. Two calls at 5:10 a.m. and 5:20 a.m. did not connect, while a 5:23 a.m. call connected for at least 14 seconds, according to the Clarion Ledger.
Prior testimony on the Snapchat messages between Lee and Herrington the morning of July 8 timestamped their last message — Lee messaging Herrington “Open” at 6:03 a.m.
In response to the prosecution introducing Herrington’s Google search “How long does it take to strangle someone Gabby Petito,” Horan stated that seven seconds after the search, there was Instagram activity on Herrington’s account that ended six seconds later.
In addition to further detailing of Lee and Herrington’s correspondence, it was presented that Herrington — who had a moving company with a business partner — texted a customer that he could drop off screws at 7:59 a.m., and that he texted the customer again at 8:29 a.m. that he was “pulling up now,” according to the Clarion Ledger.
Horan also questioned Fortner on what police found when searching Herrington’s apartment on July 22.
“No fibers of any kind,” Fortner answered. Fortner also said the search did not take place until 14 days after Lee’s disappearance.
Sunday
Jurors took a bus tour of multiple scenes connected to the case Sunday to help familiarize themselves with locations mentioned in testimony throughout the week, according to the Clarion Ledger. The jurors were selected on Dec. 2 in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Court proceedings will resume Monday morning.
