Judge Kelly Luther presides over the trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who is on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Daily Journal via AP, Pool)

After nearly 10 hours of jury deliberation, a Lafayette County circuit judge declared a mistrial on Wednesday in the capital murder case trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., a Grenada native accused of killing a fellow University of Mississippi graduate to preserve their secret sexual relationship.

Judge Kelly Luther’s ruling came around 8:25 p.m. after the jury informed him a second time that they were unable to reach an agreement. Both times, the jurors were gridlocked 11-1, and it is not known in which direction they were leaning as the judge told them to not say if they had more votes for a guilty verdict or acquittal.

“All right, I thank you for your effort,” Luther said. “You’ve been out nine and a half hours. I’m gonna declare a mistrial.”

The prosecution had built a circumstantial case against Herrington, arguing he was the last person to see Jimmie “Jay” Lee alive before the avid social media user stopped responding to texts and calls from family and friends on July 8, 2022. His body was never found. In October, a judge declared Lee legally dead at the request of his parents.

District Attorney Ben Creekmore told The Daily Mississippian he plans to retry the case.

Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who is on trial in the 2022 death of University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee, enters the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss., Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Antonella Rescigno/The Daily Mississippian via AP, Pool)

Before the informed Luther they were gridlocked, they asked around 3 p.m. what would happen if they couldn’t reach a verdict. Later that afternoon, the jury informed Luther they were deadlocked 11-1. Luther ordered them back for further deliberations.

The second time they said they were deadlocked, the judge asked for a show of hands if any jurors believed they could reach a verdict.

“I don’t want you tilting the windmills,” Luther said.

Luther then informed the defense and prosecution that he would entertain a motion for a new trial in the next few weeks and that he assumed, if the case returned to court, the two parties would once again seek a new venue from which to select a jury for the case.

“Just my mind reading the jury, I think we were hopelessly deadlocked,” Luther said.

Herrington will remain on bond.

READ MORE: Jury deliberations begin in trial of Ole Miss grad accused of killing Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee

UPDATED 12/12/24: This story has been updated to include a comment from District Attorney Ben Creekmore that he plans to retry Herrington.

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Molly Minta covers higher education for Mississippi Today in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on strengthening higher education coverage in local communities.

Originally from Melbourne Beach, Florida, Molly reported on public housing and prosecutors in her home state and worked as a fact-checker at The Nation before joining Mississippi Today in 2021.

Molly's work at Mississippi Today has been honored by The Green Eyeshades and the Mississippi Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest. She is a two-time finalist for the Education Writers Association National Awards for Education Reporting in the beat and feature reporting categories, including for her story on Mississippi's only class on critical race theory.