JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man charged with killing a University of Mississippi graduate who was prominent in the LGBTQ+ community pleaded guilty on Monday to second-degree murder and tampering charges as he faced a second trial.
Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. entered the plea in the death of Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee a gay man who disappeared in July 2022. A judge declared a mistrial last year after jurors failed to reach a verdict.
Lee went missing from Oxford, where the university is located. In February of this year, deer hunters stumbled upon Lee's skeletal remains in a wooded area, according to Mississippi Today.
At the first trial, prosecutors claimed Herrington, who was not openly gay, killed Lee after the two had a sexual encounter that ended badly.
Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from Ole Miss.
Herrington is set to be sentenced on Tuesday.
His lawyers were not immediately available for comment.
