By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
Mississippi attorney Carlos Moore, with the Cochran Law Firm, announced on Saturday that he and another lawyer be representing the man charged with murder in the case of missing Ole Miss student Jimmie “Jay” Lee.
Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., 22, from Grenada, was charged with murder, according to a press release from the Oxford Police Department and the University of Mississippi Police Department on Friday.
Lee, 20, was last seen at around 6 a.m. on July 8 after leaving his Campus Walk apartment to get coffee. His car was towed later that day from Molly Barr Apartments.
“I have been retained to represent Tim Herrington along with Kevin Horan,” Moore said on his social media pages. “Although he has been charged with a serious crime he is presumed innocent. We will vigorously defend him and look forward to clearing his good name.”
As of the arrest announcement Friday, Lee’s body has not yet been found. Investigators say more details will be released “at a later time.”
According to Herrington’s Facebook page, he owns T&T Moving Co. and graduated from the University of Mississippi in May with a BBA in Real Estate. While at Ole Miss he served as treasurer for the UM Gospel Choir.
Herrington is being held at the Lafayette County Detention Center pending a bond hearing this week.
University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce emailed faculty, staff and students Friday evening, encouraging those affected by the loss of Lee to take advantage of the university’s counseling services.
“As investigators continue to search for Jay, we continue to keep Jay’s family and friends in our thoughts and prayers during this time of immense grief,” Boyce said.
Lee, who studied social work at Ole Miss, ran for Homecoming King in September on a platform of “self-love and living your truth.” He became a drag performer in October 2021 during Oxford’s Code Pink event and performs under the name “Jehdivaa.” He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in May and was planning on attending graduate school at Ole Miss this fall.
After the news that Lee was missing started to make its way through the Oxford and Ole Miss communities, support for Lee and his family began to pour out from a rally held last week to the establishment of a GoFundMe account to assist Lee’s family to thousands of social media posts of professing love, sadness, concern and prayers.
This is a developing story. Hotty Toddy News will provide updates as they become available.
For any tips, contact OPD at 662-232-2400, UPD at 662-915-7234, CrimeStoppers at 662-234-8477, or direct message them on social media.
