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)

The University of Mississippi graduate accused of killing Jimmie “Jay” Lee was indicted for tampering with physical evidence, a new charge that comes on the heels of the unexpected discovery of Lee’s body last week.

Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. reported to the Lafayette County Circuit Court on Tuesday to face a new indictment that alleges he obstructed justice by hiding Lee’s body after he killed Lee on July 8, 2022.

Herrington, who pleaded not guilty, was also appointed a public defender, Oxford-based attorney Denise Fondren, according to multiple reports. Then he was taken to jail where he will remain until his bond hearing next week.

That’s when Lafayette County District Attorney Ben Creekmore said he would announce if the state will seek the death penalty or life in prison in the event Herrington is convicted of capital murder at the next trial, a date for which has yet to be set.

Creekmore did not pursue the death penalty at the trial in December, but he told the Daily Journal that the finding of Lee’s body last week was a “material change in circumstances.”

READ MORE: ‘Hopelessly deadlocked’: Judge declares mistrial in Tim Herrington trial

Lee’s body was discovered last week at a well-known dumping site in Carroll County, about a half-hour from Herrington’s parent’s house. The day Lee went missing, Herrington was seen on video retrieving a long-handle shovel and wheelbarrow from his parent’s house and putting it into the back of a box truck that belonged to his moving company, according to evidence released in the case.

Also last week, the Oxford Police Department pulled from the court’s evidence file a partially used roll of duct tape that was discovered in Herrington’s apartment after police brought him in for questioning. Herrington purchased duct tape the morning Lee went missing, according to a receipt that police obtained.

READ MORE: Police investigation into Ole Miss student killing: Timeline, what we know so far

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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.