Dec. 2 (UPI) — A Mississippi man was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison after being convicted of murdering a university student to allegedly cover up a romantic relationship.
Circuit Court Judge Kelly Luther handed down the sentence to Timothy Herrington, who pleaded guilty a day earlier to second-degree murder and evidence-tampering charges, The Oxford Eagle reported. Herrington’s plea came just as his trial was about to get underway for the murder of Jimmie “Jay” Lee, a University of Mississippi, or “Ole Miss,” student who disappeared in 2022.
Following the sentence, Luther noted the case has been closely watched nationally in anticipation that Lee would not receive justice because he “lived a lifestyle that was different from most people in Mississippi,” the Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported. But Luther said that “Mississippi got it right this time.”
“This case was investigated more thoroughly than any case I’ve ever dealt with in my 35 years in the criminal justice system,” Luther said.
Herrington was arrested two weeks after Lee went missing and told police the two had a sexual relationship after denying it earlier, WLBT reported. An earlier trial resulted in a non-unanimous verdict for Herrington and he was about to be retried.
Prosecutors said during his previous trial that Lee, then 20, visited Herrington early in the morning on the date of his disappearance, the station reported. Before their meeting, Herrington allegedly Googled “How long does it take to strangle someone?”
Other evidence presented by prosecutors included a video of Herrington driving Lee’s car to an apartment complex where he abandoned the vehicle, the station reported. But the judge declared a mistrial after jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict because Lee’s body was still missing, according to the station.
Jimmie Lee Sr. told the court he was a “broken father,” the Clarion Ledger reported.
“I had to witness my son’s skeletal remains,” he said. “I touched his skull. No father should have to go through that.”
