The third day of testimony in the murder trial of Timothy Herrington, accused of killing University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee, revealed a detailed web of digital evidence, social media activity, and surveillance footage.

Herrington was arrested on July 22, 2022, and charged with Lee’s murder. He was indicted on a capital murder charge and has been out on a $250,000 bond since December 2022.

Lee, 20, was last seen at about 6 a.m. on July 8, 2022, when he left his apartment at Campus Walk Apartments.

Lee’s body has not been recovered.

On Thursday, University Police Investigator Ben Douglas testified that after police could not locate Lee after conducting a welfare check, he contacted AT&T to see if Lee’s phone was still active. He was told it was not and then he requested historical pings from 12:17 a.m. through 7:28 a.m.

The last two ping locations for Lee’s phone were near Stone Park, across from the Oxford Police Department, and Residential College South, according to Douglas.

Douglas said investigators also accessed Lee’s iCloud, Gmail and SnapChat accounts. At the state’s instruction, Douglas read a SnapChat conversation between Lee and Herrington.

The tense exchange happened in the early hours of July 8, the day Lee disappeared. The conversation was sexually explicit and Lee accused Herrington of deceptive behavior, expressing mistrust and suggesting he feared being lured into a dangerous situation; however, he agreed to go see Herrington.

At 6:03 a.m., Lee’s final message to Herrington read, “Open.”

Testimony then turned to Herrington’s search history.

According to Douglas, Herrington Googled “How long does it take to strangle someone Gabby Petito” at 5:56 a.m. On July 9.  Petito was killed by her fiancé Brian Christopher Laundrie while they were traveling together. Douglas said that is the first suggestion whenever you search “How long does it take to strangle someone.”

Warrants were also used to access Herrington’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

According to Douglas’ testimony, Herrington searched “Ole Miss Police,” “Jimmy Lee,” “Oxford Mississippi Police,” and “Find Jimmy Lee,” several times between July 11-15.

The trial continues at 9 a.m. on Friday at the Lafayette County Courthouse.

Read more:

Day 2 story: https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2024/12/04/day-two-of-herrington-trial-focuses-on-timelines-video-footage-of-lees-car/

Day 1 story: https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2024/12/03/trial-of-timothy-herrington-begins-in-oxford/