OXFORD — A Mississippi man has been charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of a missing Ole Miss student.
Oxford police announced Friday that they arrested Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., 22, of Grenada. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal said that Herrington was being held without bond as of Friday afternoon. The missing student, Jimmie “Jay” Lee, disappeared the morning of July 8.
In a statement posted on social media, investigators said they are still working to find Lee’s body.
“This is still an ongoing investigation and updates will be given at a later date,” the statement reads.
An attorney for Herrington could not immediately be identified or reached for comment.
Lee was last seen leaving an apartment complex in Oxford. His family realized he was missing after he did not show up for a baby formula donation drive he had organized. Lee organized the event for his internship with the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services.
Oxford Police said Tuesday afternoon that the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Oxford were assisting with the investigation.
On July 14, Oxford police released a recording featuring Lee’s father, Jimmie, pleading with the public for help in finding his missing son.
A graduate of Murrah High School in Jackson, Lee was a public policy major at Ole Miss. He was spending the summer in Oxford finishing his bachelor’s degree in social work. He had already been accepted into the master’s program in social work at Ole Miss and was scheduled to start this fall.
Lee also was well-known in Oxford’s LGBTQ community.
Lakiowa Milan, Lee’s neighbor, spoke to WTOK-TV, about the student following his disappearance.
“He’ll talk to anybody, he’s kind of the life of the party, he’s real sweet so it’s just unfortunate something like this has happened to him,” said Milan.
A Facebook page appearing to be Herrington Jr.’s says he graduated with a BBA in Real Estate from Ole Miss in May. It also says he is the owner of an Oxford-based moving company.
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