Dateline NBC - Season 35 - Episode 03: Bringing Jay Home EngSub - video Dailymotion

PrismVisionNetwork

Dateline NBC - Season 35 - Episode 03: Bringing Jay Home

Transcript

00:00:00¡Suscríbete al canal!

00:00:30What was it about those exchanges?

00:00:32It seemed like Jaylee was upset.

00:00:34If you mess with those men, something bad could happen to you.

00:00:38Because of the secret, he has it all to lose.

00:00:42This is the middle of the summer here in Mississippi.

00:00:44Somebody wearing a hoodie caught our eye.

00:00:46He looks at the trash can big enough to put a body in him.

00:00:50Lord, what type of punishment is this?

00:00:52It's like emotional torture.

00:00:54This humble, loving family, they were going to get everything that we had.

00:00:58We started sifting through decaying leaves, and there was a piece of jewelry.

00:01:03That was the only piece that we didn't have.

00:01:06Now we've got it. Let's go.

00:01:08A victim whose life was an open book,

00:01:11and a suspect whose life was a story of secrets.

00:01:14I'm Lester Holt, and this is Dateline.

00:01:25Here's Blaine Alexander with Bringing Jay Home.

00:01:36By all appearances, it was just another piece of trash,

00:01:41strewn amongst the tires and tossed junk in these forgotten woods of rural Mississippi.

00:01:46And I'm just sifting it through my hands,

00:01:49and a flashlight catches a glimpse of something shiny.

00:01:55It was a most unlikely discovery.

00:01:58The final piece of a tragic puzzle that began two and a half years earlier.

00:02:04When I didn't get that call, I told my husband something's going on.

00:02:08This story is about outrage.

00:02:11Where is Jay? Where is Jay?

00:02:14And determination.

00:02:16You start stacking those pebbles,

00:02:18and all of a sudden, everything's starting to point in one direction.

00:02:22It's about an extraordinary friendship.

00:02:24You saw a family that was truly broken,

00:02:26that you felt so broken for them.

00:02:29And a dormant truth awakened.

00:02:32How did you find out what had happened?

00:02:35I'm sorry.

00:02:38But here, in the heart of the Bible Belt,

00:02:41this story is also about faith,

00:02:43and that eternal hope that what's done in the darkness

00:02:46will always come to light.

00:02:49I know God's going to make a way.

00:02:51Lord, I don't know what you want me to do at this point,

00:02:54but I'm going to keep saying,

00:02:56Jay's coming home.

00:03:05It was July 8, 2022,

00:03:07when Tayla Carey texted her 20-year-old brother, Jay Lee,

00:03:11a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi in Oxford.

00:03:15She was just checking in,

00:03:17something she'd done daily since they were kids.

00:03:20Where are you at?

00:03:21What you eating today?

00:03:23What you doing tomorrow?

00:03:24You guys were literally walking each other through your days.

00:03:26Step by step.

00:03:27In real time.

00:03:28In real time.

00:03:29Jay loved his sister,

00:03:31but he was a mama's boy through and through.

00:03:34As soon as he knew that mom was up and moving,

00:03:38he was going to call.

00:03:40Jay's parents, Stephanie, a retail manager,

00:03:42and Jimmy, a truck driver and minister.

00:03:45And it's not just one time,

00:03:48it's two or three times a day.

00:03:49Ms. Stephanie,

00:03:50there wasn't a day that went by that you didn't talk to him.

00:03:53Not a day went by.

00:03:55Until that hot summer day in July,

00:03:57which was strange, inexplicable, really.

00:04:01It was my birthday.

00:04:03And me knowing Jay,

00:04:04he would call me and sing happy birthday all night long

00:04:08before two or three in the morning.

00:04:11She did get a text from Jay at 2 a.m.

00:04:14It's your birthday, lady.

00:04:15He wrote, I love you.

00:04:17But after that, silence.

00:04:20As a mom, you knew in your heart something was wrong.

00:04:24I knew, yes.

00:04:26Jay, the youngest of Stephanie's four children,

00:04:28had always shared his cell phone location with his mom.

00:04:31It started back in high school.

00:04:33So we were keeping tabs on each other, you know.

00:04:35I can roll over in the bed at 2 o'clock in the morning

00:04:38and say, okay, he's at home.

00:04:39Can I say, it is remarkable.

00:04:40That once he went off to college,

00:04:42he kept that location on.

00:04:44He did.

00:04:45But now?

00:04:46The location was turned off just like that, you know.

00:04:50We just didn't know what to think.

00:04:52Taylor reached out to Jay's college friend, Jose Reyes.

00:04:55Which was odd because I had never had a conversation with Taylor.

00:04:58And she kind of was just asking, hey, boo, have you heard from Jay Lee?

00:05:04He tried to call and text his friend, but none went through.

00:05:08So now, almost a day since Jay had last texted his mom,

00:05:12Jose drove to his friend's campus apartment to check things out.

00:05:16I went up and I knocked on his door.

00:05:18No one opened the door.

00:05:20I could hear his dog, Lexi, on the other side of the door.

00:05:24Another red flag.

00:05:25Jose knew Jay was obsessed with Lexi.

00:05:28Everyone knew it.

00:05:30He took her everywhere.

00:05:31To shops and museums, on road trips, even to class.

00:05:35That boy, he would not leave Lexi like that alone.

00:05:39Not for that long.

00:05:40That's out of character.

00:05:42Out of character for Jay Lee, for sure.

00:05:44Jay's mom knew it was time to call police.

00:05:47She reached out to the University of Mississippi PD to request a welfare check.

00:05:52The dispatcher notified Captain Jane Mahan, a 19-year veteran of the Ole Miss Police Force.

00:05:59She was very insistent.

00:06:01The mom called 6 a.m. the next morning, looking for an update, expressing,

00:06:07I have still not heard from my son.

00:06:09This is very unusual type behavior for him.

00:06:14Captain Mahan sent officers to Jay's apartment.

00:06:17From their conversations with Jay's mom, police knew about the car Jay owned.

00:06:21A black Ford Fusion with a distinctive gold racing stripe on its hood.

00:06:26But they couldn't find it in the parking lot.

00:06:29Upstairs, Jay's door was slightly open.

00:06:32They knocked, no answer.

00:06:34So they went inside.

00:06:36He's not there.

00:06:37Nobody's in the apartment.

00:06:38Did it look like there were any signs of a struggle or anything like that?

00:06:41No, the apartment looked like a college individual's apartment.

00:06:46Food here in the air on the counter, you know.

00:06:49And Jay's things were in his room.

00:06:53University police checked out the hospitals and jails in the area

00:06:56to see if somehow Jay had wound up in the ER or behind bars.

00:07:01Nothing.

00:07:03What's more, they learned, Jay hadn't shown up to work for the past two days.

00:07:08Captain Mahan needed a lead, and she had a hunch.

00:07:12We're looking for any clue at all, and there's a camera right here outside of Jay's apartment.

00:07:18Looking right at his door.

00:07:19Yes, ma'am.

00:07:20It was tremendous in this investigation, being able to identify when Jay was leaving his apartment.

00:07:27Not just when, but how.

00:07:31The mystery of what happened to Jay would haunt an entire community.

00:07:36I felt scared.

00:07:38As a father, I just wanted to get him.

00:07:40He said that the guy told him he was going to do something that he had never done before.

00:07:46And reveal a most unlikely suspect.

00:07:49He was giving me advice on, you know, how to stay out of trouble.

00:07:53And this is what I found.

00:07:55How long does it take to strangle someone?

00:07:58All that before one final stunning revelation.

00:08:02That was like, okay, Lord, what type of punishment is this?

00:08:19Jay Lee's family was concerned on the day he went missing.

00:08:23By day two, they were panicked.

00:08:26I know I was doing at least 24 to 25 calls a minute.

00:08:32Back to back, back to back, back to back, back to back, back to back, back to back.

00:08:36Because it kept going to voicemail.

00:08:38Jay's friend Jose monitored Jay's social media accounts.

00:08:42For years, Jay had posted something almost daily.

00:08:45But now, nothing.

00:08:48He was always my mini little internet celebrity.

00:08:50Always enjoyed seeing his posts, his stories, his tweets.

00:08:53So he was very active on social media.

00:08:55Very active.

00:08:55Yes.

00:08:57As Jay's family and friends became increasingly desperate,

00:09:01University Police Captain Jane Mahan was pursuing her first lead.

00:09:05The security footage from that camera facing Jay's apartment.

00:09:08She rewound it to 4.01 a.m. on July 8th.

00:09:12And there he was, Jay, leaving his apartment.

00:09:16It was a strange sight.

00:09:18Jay was wearing a robe, slippers, and a gold bonnet.

00:09:22Almost as if he'd gotten out of bed and just sleepwalked right out the door.

00:09:27Wearing that outfit, robe, bonnet, slippers, kind of unusual.

00:09:31It appears maybe he's just running off campus for a minute or two and then coming back.

00:09:35Like a quick errand.

00:09:37Right.

00:09:37Absolutely.

00:09:38Tells me Jay intended on coming back, coming back home.

00:09:43And she was right.

00:09:44About 30 minutes later.

00:09:46He comes back in, same clothing, goes in.

00:09:49Okay.

00:09:50Then around 5.58, the same morning, Jay comes back out of his apartment.

00:09:56He gets into his car and then he leaves out of the parking lot and goes off campus.

00:10:03But this time, Jay didn't return.

00:10:06Jaylee was definitely a night owl.

00:10:08He had a very strange sleep schedule.

00:10:12Braylon Johnson was one of Jay's best friends and his former roommate.

00:10:17He definitely wasn't a casual person.

00:10:19He didn't leave the house in his bathrobe very often.

00:10:22He would get dressed.

00:10:23He would get dressed.

00:10:24Even if it was just to go check the mail or to walk his dog.

00:10:27There were many times that I saw him leaving the house to walk his dog, to walk Lexi in heels.

00:10:33Yep, heels.

00:10:35Jay was out and proud.

00:10:38And when it came to fashion, he loved to make a statement.

00:10:43And I'm seeing catcalling the street and stuff.

00:10:45I guess because I have on this revealing outfit.

00:10:49He was the type of person, he can put on some blue pants, a purple shirt, and a red hat.

00:10:55And some cheetah print heels if he wanted to put on some cheetah print heels.

00:10:59And it was going to look good.

00:11:00And if you didn't like it or well, he was still going to shred it.

00:11:04When you close your eyes and think about your brother, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

00:11:12Unapologetically happy.

00:11:13Would you say that it takes a lot of courage to be openly gay here in Oxford, Mississippi?

00:11:20A lot of courage.

00:11:21Yes.

00:11:23Especially if, like Jay, you decide to run for Ole Miss Homecoming King.

00:11:38He was campaigning every day and getting a lot of backlash.

00:11:44Face to face.

00:11:45Face to face, yes.

00:11:46What were people saying?

00:11:48Talking about him wearing heels and using the N-word, just saying his campaign, it didn't

00:11:57represent Ole Miss.

00:11:59And even though he didn't win, he took that as an opportunity to advocate on campus for

00:12:05minority groups of, hey, this is what my experience is like, doing something that I have a right

00:12:12as a student to do.

00:12:13His goal, I mean, I think from day one, to be an impact on people's lives.

00:12:20I can remember him being born.

00:12:24You know, I was in the room.

00:12:26The first thing that came out was his fist.

00:12:31So I knew he was going to be a fighter.

00:12:34You're a minister.

00:12:35You all are a family of very deep faith.

00:12:37Mm-hmm.

00:12:38Living in the Deep South.

00:12:41Yes.

00:12:41A lot of kids in his situation may have been very afraid to be who they truly were and be

00:12:47open about their sexuality for fear that their parents wouldn't accept them.

00:12:51You know, you can't live your child's life.

00:12:54That's something that I think you as a parent should step back and let them know that regardless

00:13:00of what route you take, I'm here for you.

00:13:02I'm going to show you love and I'm going to have your back.

00:13:06Jimmy says he tried to instill in his son the lessons his father taught him, especially

00:13:12this one.

00:13:13Be who you are or nothing at all.

00:13:15Another thing Jay was, a fantastic student.

00:13:19He graduated top 10 in his high school class and when he set off to Ole Miss, he left with

00:13:24a rather ambitious goal, graduate in three years.

00:13:29He said, y'all watch my smoke.

00:13:30I'm going to do it.

00:13:31I'm going to get it done.

00:13:32And he did it.

00:13:33Literally.

00:13:34He wasn't playing.

00:13:35He was 100% serious about his education and his future.

00:13:42Jay was just as serious about his faith.

00:13:45He grew up in the church.

00:13:47Each and every Sunday he would get up and have to do a testimony and he was going to thank

00:13:52God for what he's done in his life.

00:13:54So when people look at Jay, they see the confidence, but you're saying really what's underneath it

00:13:58is faith.

00:14:00It was that faith that shaped Jay's plans for his future.

00:14:07He was pursuing a master's degree in social work.

00:14:11He interned at Oxford's Child Protective Services and he'd organized a baby formula drive for

00:14:16low-income families scheduled for the very day he went missing.

00:14:21That just further confirmed my fears that someone has done something to Jay Lee.

00:14:27Because I knew if he organized an event like that, he wouldn't miss it.

00:14:31He wouldn't bail on it before it was complete.

00:14:34So where was Jay?

00:14:37Two days after he vanished, the department put out a missing persons poster, including

00:14:42Jay's graduation photo and a picture of his car.

00:14:46Jay's disappearance was now public.

00:14:49The headlines soon followed.

00:14:51Lee was last seen here at the Campus Walk apartment.

00:14:55And so did the fear.

00:14:57Every day that we woke up and there were no updates from the police, it was a nightmare.

00:15:17Not long after university police released Jay's missing persons poster, the calls started rolling

00:15:24in by the hundreds.

00:15:27The most promising lead came from a tow truck driver.

00:15:30He told police that hours after Jay went missing, he found Jay's car in an illegal parking spot.

00:15:37We learned that his car was towed from Molly Bar Trails Apartments.

00:15:43Molly Bar Trails, an apartment complex about two and a half miles from Jay's place.

00:15:48But it was off campus and out of the jurisdiction of university police.

00:15:54The car was here in spot 43, first here at 43.

00:15:58Enter the Oxford Police Department and Detective Ryan Baker, who would lead the investigation from now on.

00:16:04What did you find inside the car?

00:16:06Found Jay Lee's wallet with a student ID, his driver's license, credit cards, stuff like that.

00:16:11We couldn't find the car keys or Jay Lee's phone was not in the car either.

00:16:15Are you dusting for fingerprints? Are you trying to get any sort of evidence from that car?

00:16:20We actually had it towed to the Mississippi Crime Lab, and they actually processed for fingerprints

00:16:26and so forth, and only found Jay Lee's fingerprints on the car.

00:16:30So no other prints, no other DNA, nothing else that indicated anybody else had been inside that car?

00:16:36Nothing from the car, no.

00:16:37We had some officers come out here and do some knocking talks, and we didn't find anybody that really knew

00:16:42Jay Lee

00:16:42or even knew he frequented here or was even here that day.

00:16:47Investigators wondered, did Jay Lee abandon his car at Molly Bar Trails or did someone else?

00:16:54They scrolled through the complex's security video.

00:16:56It showed Jay's car entering Molly Bar Trails at 7.25 a.m., about an hour and a half after

00:17:04Jay left his apartment the second time.

00:17:06Could you tell who was behind the wheel?

00:17:08You could not, to glare from the sun and so forth, the way that camera is viewed, you could not

00:17:14tell who was driving the car.

00:17:16Was it Jay? His family and friends were desperately searching for him.

00:17:20We pretty much searched almost all of Oxford and a little bit outside of Oxford as well.

00:17:26Was there ever a thought that maybe he had harmed himself?

00:17:30Never. Never.

00:17:33Jay was the type of person that loved his life so much and so truly he lived for himself.

00:17:41So Jay harming himself or even thinking about harming himself, he would never, ever do that.

00:17:48But would someone else harm Jay? Maybe even kill him?

00:17:53As he searched for his son, Jay's father says he couldn't stop that thought from creeping in.

00:17:59One area I looked at, I saw tire marks near a wooded area. I went in.

00:18:06What were you thinking when you saw those tire marks?

00:18:09That he may have been dumped in there.

00:18:12And as a father, I just wanted to get him.

00:18:15Yeah.

00:18:16You know, I just wanted to bring him out of there.

00:18:20I'm asking that if anyone knows anything or sees anything, say something.

00:18:29This is my plea that you help find my child. Thank you.

00:18:34Every day you could see Mr. Lee carrying the weight for the family.

00:18:40Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutcheon updated Jay's family daily.

00:18:44You saw a family that was truly broken, this humble, loving family that you felt so broken for them.

00:18:51I think we took their burden and their hurt and we put it inside of us to drive us.

00:18:57That's why the chief made a promise, and it was personal.

00:19:01I had committed one way or the other, we were going to bring Jay home.

00:19:04I would never have peace. Our team would have never had peace.

00:19:07Their family would have never had peace if we didn't bring Jay home.

00:19:11What was the feeling within the LGBTQ community as these days were passing with no sign of Jay?

00:19:18Fear.

00:19:19Every day that we woke up and there were no updates from the police, it was a nightmare.

00:19:25Mississippi has no hate crime laws protecting its LGBTQ residents,

00:19:30and advocacy groups have consistently ranked the state as one of the least safe places for queer people in the

00:19:36United States.

00:19:38That was weighing heavily on the minds of Jay's friends,

00:19:42who believed he might be targeted not only because he was openly gay,

00:19:47he was also a well-known drag performer.

00:19:52There was definitely a lot of hate and homophobia towards Jay and the way that he presented himself.

00:19:58So I definitely was scared because violence in the queer community is so prevalent

00:20:04that I didn't know what could have happened to him.

00:20:08Within that year in the state of Mississippi,

00:20:10there had been two transgender people who had been killed.

00:20:15Of course, Jay wasn't transgender, but part of the queer community.

00:20:19Did that heighten the fear?

00:20:22Definitely.

00:20:22And we started to think the worst that maybe he was hate crime.

00:20:27Maybe someone did something to him.

00:20:28Was there ever any thought that this could possibly be some sort of a hate crime?

00:20:33We're just trying to collect all the facts and piece all the puzzles together.

00:20:37You consider every aspect of where the investigation can go.

00:20:42Which, right now, was nowhere.

00:20:45Captain Mahan, still on the case, poured over every detail in that security video.

00:20:50And then she noticed something important.

00:20:53It was the way Jay held his iPhone as he left the apartment.

00:20:56You could tell it was, like, illuminated.

00:20:59It was lit up.

00:21:00And he just held it in his hand like this.

00:21:03And he held it the whole way to his vehicle.

00:21:06Typically, I don't think people carry their phones like that

00:21:10unless they're talking on their phone.

00:21:12That's big.

00:21:13Yes.

00:21:13It shows there's somebody out there who...

00:21:16Was talking to him.

00:21:17In the last known moments of where he was.

00:21:20Yes, ma'am.

00:21:21Who was it?

00:21:23And did that person have anything to do with Jay's disappearance?

00:21:27Turns out, the first real break in the case was just a phone call away.

00:21:32I'm like, who are you going to see at 6 o'clock in the morning?

00:21:50In the college town of Oxford, Mississippi, news of a missing student had been spreading like crazy.

00:21:57But the queer community was bracing for the possibility that police would do little or nothing about it.

00:22:05I mean, no one's shocked when a queer person goes missing in the South, you know.

00:22:09Blake Summers and Jay became friends after Jay started performing in drag shows at Code Pink, an event space Blake

00:22:17founded.

00:22:18You were not confident that, quite frankly, police would do their job when it came to trying to find them.

00:22:23I'm not confident in the justice system to prosecute what needs to be done, you know.

00:22:29I mean, our history with police isn't really that great.

00:22:32Did you get a sense that there was this kind of general distrust in the community toward police as they

00:22:36were coming around, asking questions, investigating?

00:22:39I mean, I think it's natural with our community to have that distrust.

00:22:43You don't know if a queer person, a black person, will be treated the same as a sorority girl.

00:22:48Some friends were worried about talking to police for fear of saying the wrong thing or anything that might diminish

00:22:55Jay.

00:22:57I was scared to talk to the police.

00:22:58I didn't want them to think like, oh, if you say someone's annoying or young or boisterous that they deserved

00:23:04it or they'd be any more worth investigating.

00:23:07There was some reluctancy early on because of just fear of, can you be trusted?

00:23:14Can I be vulnerable with you? Am I safe to talk in this environment?

00:23:18A lot of fear. Will law enforcement take this serious?

00:23:23I know what policing means to me. I know how passionate I am.

00:23:27But for a group that may not believe that, your words don't matter, your actions do.

00:23:34Oxford police would have to earn that trust, starting with Jay's best friend, Jose.

00:23:39He was one of the first people police interviewed.

00:23:43We were open to listening and opening to learning.

00:23:46I mean, it clicked in my head.

00:23:48We're in the South.

00:23:49Not many people know the lingo or, you know, the terminology that comes within, you know, the queer space.

00:23:56He kept his guard up, especially when they asked him for an alibi.

00:24:02Were you concerned that they were looking at you?

00:24:04I was concerned. I'm like, I know we're getting desperate and we're trying to look underneath every stone, but I'm

00:24:09not the person you're not looking for.

00:24:12I'm Jay Lee's friend. I would never hurt him.

00:24:15Jose gave police his cell and detectives determined his alibi was solid.

00:24:20He was nowhere near Jay when he disappeared.

00:24:25I do recall kind of my trust being tested a little, but the questions that they asked, I could tell

00:24:30that they definitely weren't giving up.

00:24:32Mike, come check this out.

00:24:33He was right. Police were determined to figure out what happened to Jay Lee.

00:24:38They hoped this person could help, the one talking to Jay on a video call when he left his apartment

00:24:44for the last time.

00:24:46Turns out, finding him wasn't hard at all. He reached out to them.

00:24:52His name is Khalid Fears. He told police he and Jay Lee were close friends.

00:24:58Our friendship consisted a lot of checking in with each other day to day.

00:25:04And that's what Khalid was doing the day Jay disappeared. Khalid had worked the night shift and he remembers talking

00:25:10to Jay throughout the night.

00:25:12Once I finished working, I proceeded to call him. And I noticed that he was like leaving his apartment.

00:25:17And my first impression was, where are you going?

00:25:22I'm like, who are you going to see at six o'clock in the morning?

00:25:26Jay told him he was going to hook up with someone, but he wouldn't give Khalid a name.

00:25:30He told me he was going to see someone that he had saw earlier in the night.

00:25:34He told me that they had gotten into a huge argument and that he would tell me about it later.

00:25:40Jay told Khalid he got so mad at the guy, he blocked him from his social media.

00:25:45But the man found a way to reach him anyway.

00:25:48I was like, well, what are you going over there to do?

00:25:51He said that the guy told him he was going to do something that he had never done before.

00:25:58I want to say it was like a three-minute phone call.

00:26:00And he was just like, okay, I'm here, I'm going to let you go.

00:26:03And I was just like, okay, friend, have fun, you know, talk to you later.

00:26:09For police, this was good, concrete information.

00:26:12A three-minute drive from Campus Walk is still a good-sized area,

00:26:17but it kept us centered around where we needed to be.

00:26:20Ryan, take a look at this.

00:26:21Lieutenant Shane Fortner was in charge of Oxford Police's Criminal Investigations Unit.

00:26:26So you knew wherever he was going, it was within three minutes of his home?

00:26:29Yes.

00:26:30Who was Jay going to see?

00:26:33The search continued.

00:26:35And a closer look at that security video from the apartment complex where Jay's car was found

00:26:41would point the case in a whole new direction.

00:26:44Here's this individual running out of the complex.

00:26:47A running man.

00:26:48Was he somehow connected to Jay Lee's disappearance?

00:26:52That's somebody that wants to get out of the area.

00:26:54They don't want to be here.

00:27:11Summertime Mississippi can be an unforgiving place.

00:27:15A relentless heat that just kind of hangs there, stays with you, no relief.

00:27:24Such was the pain for Jay Lee's friends and family, now seven days since his disappearance.

00:27:31I started, like, losing faith.

00:27:33I was like, okay, Lord, what type of punishment is this?

00:27:41Investigators were trying to figure out who Jay met up with when he left his apartment that morning.

00:27:46We were able to obtain Jay Lee's call detail records, who he talked to previously before he went missing.

00:27:55One man stood out.

00:27:56A restaurant worker, Jay, texted shortly before Khalid called him the morning he disappeared.

00:28:02Detectives found him and brought him in for questioning.

00:28:05What was his demeanor?

00:28:06It was kind of evasive at first, kind of didn't really want to give us a whole lot of information

00:28:11about what he was doing and where he was during the time frame and so forth.

00:28:17The man said he worked that night and went straight home after.

00:28:20Detective Baker said he appeared nervous, fidgety.

00:28:23He denied having a relationship with Jay, but then admitted they had sex once.

00:28:29His reason for not being honest at first, he told detectives he wasn't openly gay and worried his family would

00:28:37find out.

00:28:39That raised the detective's suspicion.

00:28:43Jay's friend Khalid had told them about men who he described as being on the DL, or the down-low.

00:28:51My definition of DL is just somebody who's living, like, a double life.

00:28:55So it may be someone who has a family, have a wife, might even have kids.

00:29:01But on the outside, they live their life as a heterosexual person.

00:29:07But, you know, in their spare time, they're exploring all their fantasies.

00:29:13And that, Khalid told us, can bring trouble.

00:29:17The risk that you take when dealing with people who aren't comfortable with their sexuality.

00:29:21Um, I remember telling Jay that a DL man will kill you before they let their dirty little secret get

00:29:29out.

00:29:29I think that when it comes to down-low men in the Black community,

00:29:34there's definitely a warning on them that if you mess with those men, something bad could happen to you.

00:29:41So just inherently, the nature of that relationship was a risky one, a dangerous one for Jay Lee.

00:29:49Definitely.

00:29:49And there was more.

00:29:51The restaurant worker told them Jay had blocked him on social media.

00:29:55He did, to a degree, fit the profile of the person that Khalid Fears told you about, right?

00:30:01He did.

00:30:02The man was adamant he had nothing to do with Jay's disappearance.

00:30:07Detectives let him go, but they weren't done digging.

00:30:10They got a search warrant for his cell phone to extract his data, call detail records, you know, the whole

00:30:17nine yards.

00:30:18They also worked to verify his alibi.

00:30:22Could anybody confirm that he was at home?

00:30:24No, there was nobody that we could really confirm.

00:30:28Detectives pulled security video from the restaurant where the man worked, and they learned something else.

00:30:33He had left work a little early that night than he probably should have.

00:30:37An hour early, in fact.

00:30:39A detail he left out during his interview.

00:30:42Police wondered what else the man might be hiding.

00:30:45He's a person of interest, definitely.

00:30:47But for police, he was by no means the only person of interest.

00:30:51Especially after a fellow investigator noticed something on the security video from the Molly Bar Trails apartments where Jay's car

00:30:59was found.

00:31:00Something the others had missed.

00:31:02Just right there, a person running out of the apartment complex about nine and a half minutes after Jay's car

00:31:09pulled in.

00:31:10What he was wearing really caught our eye.

00:31:14It's July 8th.

00:31:15It's in the middle of the summer here in Mississippi.

00:31:17We, you know, it gets warm.

00:31:19Very hot.

00:31:20Somebody wearing a hoodie, a pretty heavy, yellow gray hoodie, long sleeves, hood up.

00:31:27They wanted to track this runner down.

00:31:30How close are we to the apartments from where we are?

00:31:33You're about a quarter mile from the apartments, that direction.

00:31:36So when you start pulling surveillance video, what do you see?

00:31:38The individual that ran out of Molly Bar Trails, we see that individual actually start walking down the hill and

00:31:46come in front of the gas station here.

00:31:59We see a car come beside him and that car actually slows down and then that same white car circles

00:32:06the parking lot and pulls in by a gas pump.

00:32:09They have a brief exchange, it appears, and that individual gets in the car and they drive off.

00:32:14So it's very clear to you immediately that this wasn't somebody out for just a morning run or a morning

00:32:20jog?

00:32:20No, it wasn't.

00:32:21That's somebody that wants to get out of the area.

00:32:24Detectives were convinced it was the jogger who had ditched Jay's car in the apartment complex before fleeing with the

00:32:31unknown driver.

00:32:33We don't have any clue who the individual is that ran out or who's in the car.

00:32:38We got to find that car.

00:32:39We got to figure out who was in the passenger seat.

00:32:41And whether they had any connection to Jay, could those answers be found in the direct messages in Jay's social

00:32:48media accounts?

00:32:49Well, the police were having trouble finding out.

00:32:52They wanted his Snapchat information.

00:32:54He'd been using the app the very morning he went missing.

00:32:57But they felt there wasn't time to file a search warrant and wait for Snapchat to respond.

00:33:02So Detective Baker says they filed an emergency request with the company.

00:33:05It was denied.

00:33:07Like basically a Roblox.

00:33:09Desperate, Jay's father Jimmy called Apple with a personal plea.

00:33:14Access to his son's iPhone data.

00:33:16Literally, you know, asked him, this is a missing person under the age of 21, this is my child.

00:33:22And I'm trying to see if there's any way we can get login information.

00:33:28Jimmy says the rep assured him they would send him the information.

00:33:31But a second rep told him no.

00:33:34Apple didn't respond to our request for comment.

00:33:38How frustrating was that for you?

00:33:40Very.

00:33:40It was like emotional torture to tell us you can get it and then get over there and say, no,

00:33:46we can't.

00:33:47Meanwhile, time is ticking.

00:33:48Yes.

00:33:49And you were still trying to find him?

00:33:50Still trying to find him.

00:33:52So investigators would have to find another way into Jay's social media accounts.

00:33:57And once they did, what they uncovered was well worth the wait.

00:34:02We see this name, Red Eye 24.

00:34:18Oxford police had a tantalizing new nugget, that overdressed jogger.

00:34:23So as you're trying to piece everything together, how significant is that?

00:34:27I think it's very significant because you're talking about somebody that I want to get out of the area.

00:34:31I don't want to be seen by anybody.

00:34:34But as they tried to figure out who the jogger was, they did figure out who he wasn't.

00:34:41That jittery restaurant worker.

00:34:43He went home and he had sat in his driveway for a while playing on his phone before he actually

00:34:50went into his house.

00:34:51If someone were preparing to commit a crime, they could easily leave their cell phone someplace

00:34:56and then go about and do whatever they meant to do.

00:34:59Could that have been a possibility here?

00:35:01No, because the phone was being interacted with.

00:35:05So they cleared the restaurant worker and zeroed in on what Jay told his good friend Khalid fears before he

00:35:11vanished.

00:35:12He told Khalid that he was going somewhere that he had previously been that night.

00:35:18And it was somebody that he had previously blocked on social media.

00:35:24Since police still couldn't access Jay's social media accounts, a university officer fashioned a workaround.

00:35:31He did a search warrant for Jay Lee's Apple iCloud account.

00:35:35And he was able to find passwords and user accounts for social media and stuff like that.

00:35:42The university granted access to Jay's college email account so investigators could get his Snapchat data.

00:35:48There's a function in Snapchat that you can download your own data.

00:35:53Kind of a deep hidden thing.

00:35:54Not a whole lot of people know about it, but you can.

00:35:57And so we used his university email account that we now have control of and sent his personal data, Snapchat

00:36:05data, to that email.

00:36:07Finally, they were in.

00:36:08Well, kind of.

00:36:10The Snapchat log only showed the messages Jay received and the username of the sender.

00:36:16The last message chain began at 5.25 a.m.

00:36:20That's the first time we see this name, Red Eye 24.

00:36:24And that's a screen name.

00:36:26That's a screen name.

00:36:27Red Eye texted, come back.

00:36:29You coming or nah?

00:36:30What was it about those exchanges with Red Eye 24 that caught your attention?

00:36:36It appeared that he had met with them earlier.

00:36:39It kind of seemed like Jay Lee was upset with this person based on the previous encounter that they had

00:36:46had.

00:36:47To detectives reading between the lines, it appeared Jay thought Red Eye wanted to break off contact with him.

00:36:53Red Eye responded, you tripping.

00:36:55I do feel bad because we cool, so I ain't trying to end it like this.

00:36:59Then Red Eye seemed to give in to something Jay asked for, texting, okay, I'll do it.

00:37:05The detectives wondered if that meant something sexual.

00:37:09Because we know a lot of things about Jay Lee.

00:37:12And we learned throughout the investigation, Jay Lee would go meet other men and have sexual encounters.

00:37:17At around 6 a.m., detectives believe Jay, chatting on the phone with Khalid, was driving to meet Red Eye.

00:37:24Then once he kind of got close to, or what Khalid thought was appeared to be close,

00:37:29he kind of just ended the conversation and basically he had to go.

00:37:33That's when detectives believe Jay showed up at Red Eye's front door.

00:37:38We were confident that that was the last person that saw Jay Lee alive.

00:37:42You got to figure out who this Red Eye underscore 24 is.

00:37:45And I make a phone call to a friend at the U.S. attorney's office and just say, how can

00:37:49you help us?

00:37:49The U.S. attorney filed a federal warrant and this time, Snapchat delivered.

00:37:54So that really was a turning point.

00:37:56It was huge.

00:37:57Now the detectives had Red Eye's email address and found it was the same email for a podcast called Dirt

00:38:04to Diamonds.

00:38:05Another episode of Dirt to Diamonds podcast.

00:38:08Today I have a special guest.

00:38:10The host, a handsome 22-year-old man and fellow Ole Miss graduate.

00:38:15Tim Harrington.

00:38:16What do you learn about Tim Harrington?

00:38:18Highly thought of on the Ole Miss campus.

00:38:20I was a good student.

00:38:21Jay's friend Braylon knew him well.

00:38:24I definitely had leaned on Tim Harrington for help in the past.

00:38:29He was giving me advice on, you know, how to stay out of trouble and what to do if your

00:38:34grades are bad.

00:38:35I looked at Tim as a friend.

00:38:38You have those people who kind of like take you under their wing.

00:38:41Was Tim kind of like that?

00:38:43Definitely.

00:38:44Tim was very outgoing and he was definitely the life of the party type of person.

00:38:51Detectives learned Tim was from Grenada, a small town about an hour from Oxford.

00:38:56Like Jay, Tim was a preacher's kid, his grandfather an influential bishop.

00:39:02Tim was active in his community too, as a youth counselor and a guitarist in the church band.

00:39:08He was also an entrepreneur.

00:39:11He started his own moving company while still in college.

00:39:14He looked to be a young man that had a very bright future.

00:39:18He was ambitious, whether that was going to be politically or in real estate.

00:39:22And he projected confidence in an interview with the Ole Miss TV station.

00:39:27My name is Tim Harrington.

00:39:28I'm from the lovely city of Grenada, Mississippi.

00:39:30Here he was laying out his career path.

00:39:32That's what I see myself doing, developing real estate.

00:39:35Even casting himself as an entrepreneur influencer of sorts.

00:39:39Don't worry about age or little things like that holding you back.

00:39:43Get started, you'll learn as you go.

00:39:45Believed in himself, believed that he had a future.

00:39:48He wanted greatness for himself and for his life.

00:39:51This hardly sounds like the type of person that you would look at and say,

00:39:55you are responsible for killing somebody.

00:39:57Yeah, it did.

00:39:59You just follow the evidence.

00:40:01The detectives wanted to speak with Tim immediately.

00:40:05They headed to his apartment, not knowing who or what they might find.

00:40:24Two weeks after Jay Lee walked out of his campus apartment for the last time,

00:40:29the detectives, with body cameras rolling,

00:40:32followed the trail of Snapchat messages to the door of another Ole Miss graduate,

00:40:37Tim Harrington.

00:40:42Tim opens the door, we introduce ourselves,

00:40:45we kind of tell Tim, hey, this is why we're here, all right?

00:40:49Jay Lee's been missing.

00:40:50Can we come in and talk to you?

00:40:51Just see if you can help us out?

00:40:52And he, you know, opened his door and allowed us to come in and speak with him.

00:40:56So he's cooperating.

00:40:57Oh, absolutely.

00:41:11He was saying, yeah, we weren't that close.

00:41:13We knew each other in passing,

00:41:15but it was obvious to us based on the Snapchat messages

00:41:18that they had more of a relationship than he led into.

00:41:22We didn't know the nature of it,

00:41:24but we knew that there's more of a relationship than I knew him from school and passing.

00:41:28Have you had any contact with him lately?

00:41:29No, sir.

00:41:30I haven't heard anything from him since.

00:41:32Since he's been gone, I haven't heard anything.

00:41:34When was the last time you had any contact with him?

00:41:37Um, that night.

00:41:39It was the night, or rather the very early morning,

00:41:43that Jay Lee went missing.

00:41:45So you're actually the first one that's been able to say,

00:41:49you know what, I saw him that night.

00:41:50Yeah, I did see him, so like...

00:41:52Tim told the officers he was getting ready to move to Dallas,

00:41:55that he'd run into Jay while he was out looking to buy a drill,

00:41:58and Jay called him later.

00:42:01And he was like, you know, I got you a deal, blah, blah, blah.

00:42:04I was like, cool, you know, just stop by.

00:42:06I appreciate it, thank you.

00:42:08So he brought the gifts, and that was about it.

00:42:12Detectives then changed their line of questioning.

00:42:16So I'm just way asking everybody, okay?

00:42:22And Tim dismisses it.

00:42:23Where does the conversation go from there?

00:42:26The question that stood out to me the most was,

00:42:29what do you think happened to Jay Lee?

00:42:35I don't know.

00:42:36I don't know if he just, like, went and had casual sex with somebody

00:42:39and got kidnapped like this.

00:42:41Tim goes on to say it's possible

00:42:45he went and had casual sex with someone

00:42:47and they kidnapped him.

00:42:50Out of the blue.

00:42:51Out of the blue.

00:42:52It feels oddly specific.

00:42:53It does.

00:42:54You know if Jay Lee was going to meet,

00:42:55talk to anybody after he left your apartment?

00:42:57Nah.

00:42:58All along in this conversation,

00:42:59you've got things on a simmer, let's say.

00:43:02At some point, you turn it up to a full boil.

00:43:03Oh, absolutely.

00:43:05We had to crank the heat up.

00:43:06Hey, Tim.

00:43:07Is there?

00:43:07Stand up for us, okay?

00:43:08Okay.

00:43:12We detained him for further questioning.

00:43:15So when you brought Tim down to headquarters,

00:43:17you were doing it right here in this room?

00:43:18Yes.

00:43:19So you have the right to remain silent.

00:43:21Now it's starting to get real,

00:43:22and let's start trying to figure out

00:43:24how we can get him to say,

00:43:25I was lying to y'all.

00:43:26So is it possible, Tim,

00:43:28what you told us in the apartment

00:43:29was not as accurate as it was made out to be?

00:43:32No, sir, it wasn't as accurate.

00:43:34I think it was more in depth.

00:43:35I didn't think so, Tim.

00:43:36So tell me about this deeper relationship

00:43:38you and Jay Lee have.

00:43:40It was just like a sexual thing.

00:43:44We went to night series.

00:43:45How many times have you and Jay Lee

00:43:47had sexual intercourse?

00:43:49I'm not sure.

00:43:50Probably like maybe two or three.

00:43:53Tim changes his story.

00:43:54He admits, yes,

00:43:55they did have a sexual relationship.

00:43:57That's a big admission.

00:43:59Absolutely.

00:43:59The night he came over,

00:44:01Yes, sir.

00:44:02Did y'all have sexual relations that night?

00:44:05Yes, sir, we did.

00:44:06He came over, and then, like, you know,

00:44:09he just gave me more, like,

00:44:10he usually does, and does about it.

00:44:13Like, he just, like, we just talked,

00:44:15and then he left.

00:44:17But you know that he went back a second time.

00:44:20Yes.

00:44:20Did Jay Lee come back?

00:44:22Yes, sir, he came back.

00:44:23And Tim says, yes,

00:44:24it was for a sexual encounter

00:44:25that I was supposed to give Jay Lee.

00:44:27And we come back,

00:44:28and then, like, we do the same thing.

00:44:30I make it up to him.

00:44:32You make it up to him?

00:44:33Yeah, I did.

00:44:34So this is in direct contrast

00:44:36to the story that he had just told you.

00:44:38No, it's in direct contrast

00:44:39to everything he's told us up to that point.

00:44:41That was about it.

00:44:42Then, like, he just, like, left.

00:44:44And then that was it.

00:44:46Okay.

00:44:46How did he leave?

00:44:48Like, he was cool.

00:44:49Like, he was just, like,

00:44:50he thought, like, I wasn't going to do it

00:44:52because I don't do it.

00:44:53So he left the apartment walking?

00:44:56Yeah.

00:44:57Hmm.

00:44:58And then what?

00:45:01Did you leave the apartment?

00:45:04Yes, sir.

00:45:04Where'd you go?

00:45:05I went to Walmart.

00:45:07That was news we had no information about.

00:45:11So he's the one who introduced that to you?

00:45:13He introduced that.

00:45:14He went to Walmart.

00:45:15Okay.

00:45:15What'd you do at Walmart?

00:45:17Nothing.

00:45:17I have a moving company.

00:45:18Like, I had a move there on the day.

00:45:19So the tapes were the boxes and stuff like that.

00:45:23The detectives wanted details.

00:45:26So you bought duct tape

00:45:28or tape in general, not duct tape.

00:45:29The big, clear tape, you wrap around it?

00:45:32Yeah.

00:45:32Tim had a moving company,

00:45:34so he said it's what they wrap boxes in.

00:45:36Packaging tape.

00:45:37Moving tape, packaging tape.

00:45:38The detectives pressed Tim

00:45:40for more information

00:45:41about what he did that morning.

00:45:44And that's when he asked

00:45:45if he needed a lawyer.

00:45:47You want to talk about everything today?

00:45:48I can get you to turn it down here.

00:45:51Okay, whatever.

00:45:52I don't talk about everything today.

00:45:54We'll keep investigating.

00:45:56But you're not leaving here today.

00:45:57That's fine.

00:45:59Tim had stopped cooperating,

00:46:01but the detectives felt they had their guy.

00:46:04So at this point now,

00:46:05he's charged.

00:46:06He's under arrest.

00:46:07You've charged him with murder.

00:46:08Yes.

00:46:09So what happened next

00:46:10came as a big shock.

00:46:12We were actually on the lawn

00:46:14of the courthouse,

00:46:15just crying.

00:46:16The details were heavy.

00:46:17I was confused.

00:46:18I was disgusted.

00:46:33News of Tim Harrington's arrest

00:46:35hit Jay's family and friends

00:46:37like one of Mississippi's

00:46:38merciless tornadoes.

00:46:40Before, you're holding out hope.

00:46:44You're searching for him.

00:46:46Police are searching for him.

00:46:48Now there's an arrest

00:46:49and somebody charged with his murder.

00:46:52Yes.

00:46:53It was hard.

00:46:54I mean, the evidence was there

00:46:56to say something happened,

00:46:58but where he's by it,

00:46:59we didn't know.

00:47:00Freeland, you knew Tim Harrington.

00:47:03You were students together.

00:47:04I was very angry

00:47:07when I saw his mugshot.

00:47:08From that moment forward,

00:47:10I knew that Tim Harrington

00:47:11had something to do with it

00:47:13in some way.

00:47:1522-year-old Harrington

00:47:17makes his way inside

00:47:18to appear.

00:47:19People were shocked

00:47:20to learn that,

00:47:22one, that they had a relationship,

00:47:24and then, two,

00:47:25that Tim Harrington

00:47:26was being accused of murder.

00:47:28Tim Harrington was in jail,

00:47:30and DA Ben Creekmore

00:47:32would make the case

00:47:33to keep him there.

00:47:34But without Jay's body,

00:47:36that could be tricky.

00:47:38Typically, in a criminal case,

00:47:40you're going to have the body.

00:47:41You're going to know

00:47:42what form of violence was used.

00:47:44You're going to be able

00:47:45to call the medical examiner in

00:47:48to tell the jury

00:47:49the manner of death,

00:47:51cause of death.

00:47:52And you had none of that?

00:47:53I had none of that.

00:47:54So he needed to build

00:47:56a circumstantial case.

00:47:57By now, he had obtained

00:47:59Jay's side of his

00:48:00early morning Snapchat exchange

00:48:02with RedEye24,

00:48:04a.k.a. Tim Harrington.

00:48:07At one point,

00:48:07Jay seemed suspicious of Tim,

00:48:09texting,

00:48:10yeah, now it seemed like

00:48:12you're just trying

00:48:12to lure me over there

00:48:13to beat my ass or something.

00:48:15And he warned Tim

00:48:16against violence.

00:48:17Jay at some point says,

00:48:18you know if you try

00:48:19something fast,

00:48:20it won't end up good

00:48:21for you, right?

00:48:21What does that mean?

00:48:22It's saying that

00:48:24Jay Lee is

00:48:25kind of concerned

00:48:27or maybe a little fearful

00:48:28to come back over

00:48:29to Tim's apartment.

00:48:31But then Jay messaged,

00:48:32I'm coming.

00:48:34Even though Jay is suspicious,

00:48:35he still gets him

00:48:36to come over.

00:48:37Yes.

00:48:37Detectives believe

00:48:38Jay showed up

00:48:39at Tim's front door

00:48:40because he texted

00:48:41a single word,

00:48:43open.

00:48:43So he's saying open,

00:48:45basically open the door,

00:48:45I'm here.

00:48:46Yeah, I'm here.

00:48:47Open the door.

00:48:48It was the final text

00:48:49Jay sent,

00:48:50the last evidence

00:48:51he was still alive.

00:48:53The prosecutor

00:48:54got Tim's phone

00:48:55and computer

00:48:56which would turn up

00:48:57more clues.

00:48:58And investigators

00:48:59also found

00:49:00security camera footage

00:49:01that captured

00:49:02Tim's movements

00:49:03in the minutes

00:49:04and hours

00:49:04after Jay went

00:49:05to see him.

00:49:07Moments after

00:49:08Jay Lee enters

00:49:10the apartment,

00:49:11Tim is, you know,

00:49:13leaving the apartment,

00:49:14going to Walmart.

00:49:16He looks at

00:49:16where all the trash cans are.

00:49:18There's a trash can

00:49:19big enough

00:49:20to put a body in.

00:49:21It's what he's

00:49:22looking at.

00:49:23At Walmart?

00:49:23That's right.

00:49:24But he ends up

00:49:25just buying

00:49:26a roll of duct tape.

00:49:28Duct tape,

00:49:29not clear packaging tape

00:49:31as he told police.

00:49:32We had found

00:49:33a roll of duct tape

00:49:34when we searched

00:49:34his apartment

00:49:35and took it as evidence.

00:49:37After he left Walmart,

00:49:38a security camera

00:49:39captured Tim's

00:49:40company truck.

00:49:41He goes and gets

00:49:42a box truck

00:49:43and then he returns

00:49:44to his apartment.

00:49:47About three and a half

00:49:48hours later,

00:49:49he drove the box truck

00:49:50to his parents' home

00:49:51in Grenada

00:49:51where another camera

00:49:53picked up something

00:49:54suspicious.

00:49:55From the neighbor's

00:49:56surveillance camera,

00:49:57we're able to see

00:49:59Tim Harrington

00:50:00put a wheelbarrow

00:50:01and shovels

00:50:03in the back

00:50:04of that box truck.

00:50:05As night closed in,

00:50:07Tim left his parents'

00:50:08house for about an hour,

00:50:10but his phone stayed.

00:50:12Detectives had a theory.

00:50:13Tim's going to get rid

00:50:14of J. Lee disposing

00:50:16of his body.

00:50:17Yes.

00:50:18But it was

00:50:19just a theory.

00:50:21You have to prove

00:50:21that there's a murder.

00:50:23Afram Sellers

00:50:24is a Harrington family friend.

00:50:25He's also a criminal

00:50:27defense attorney.

00:50:28How are you going

00:50:28to convict this man

00:50:29of murder

00:50:29and you don't know

00:50:31a manner or cause

00:50:33of death?

00:50:33Or even that he's dead.

00:50:34Or even that he's dead.

00:50:36Police had searched

00:50:37Tim's apartment,

00:50:38his car,

00:50:39and the box truck,

00:50:40but didn't find

00:50:41any incriminating evidence.

00:50:43You know that J. Lee

00:50:44was at the apartment,

00:50:45but there's nothing

00:50:46that supports

00:50:47a violent act

00:50:48or a murder.

00:50:48It was just speculation.

00:50:49So you're saying

00:50:50even with the best set

00:50:51of circumstantial evidence,

00:50:52without any sort

00:50:53of physical evidence,

00:50:55it's just a theory.

00:50:56That's the argument, yes.

00:50:58Another argument,

00:50:59he says,

00:51:00murder was totally

00:51:01out of character

00:51:02for this young man.

00:51:03For his family,

00:51:05it was impossible

00:51:06to imagine.

00:51:07How did his parents

00:51:08respond to this?

00:51:09Disbelief in that

00:51:10he's being charged,

00:51:11disbelief in that

00:51:11he could be involved

00:51:12in something like this,

00:51:13that's a natural part

00:51:14of their response.

00:51:15It's to be in shock,

00:51:17to be angry,

00:51:18to be fearful.

00:51:19And they were

00:51:19all of those things?

00:51:20They were all those things,

00:51:21but they were also

00:51:21very prayerful.

00:51:22Anything you'd like

00:51:23to say, Mr. Harrington?

00:51:24Some of their prayers

00:51:25were answered.

00:51:26About a month

00:51:27after Tim was arrested,

00:51:29as Tim's lawyers

00:51:30prepared to argue

00:51:30for his release

00:51:31at a bond hearing,

00:51:33his supporters

00:51:34came out in droves.

00:51:36These are people

00:51:36from church,

00:51:37from the community,

00:51:38people he knew

00:51:39growing up.

00:51:40Yeah, well,

00:51:40I think it was natural

00:51:41for them to give

00:51:42that support

00:51:42because what he had

00:51:44put out in the community,

00:51:45he was getting back

00:51:46because the people

00:51:48are supporting someone

00:51:49that they just

00:51:50couldn't imagine

00:51:50being involved

00:51:51or charged with murder.

00:51:52He had received

00:51:53over 70 letters

00:51:54from the Grenada sheriff

00:51:56and other law enforcement officers

00:51:58in his church community,

00:52:00basically campaigning

00:52:01for him to get out

00:52:02before they had ever

00:52:04heard the evidence

00:52:05or knew what was going on

00:52:06based on Tim Harrington

00:52:08being a good boy.

00:52:09It upset us.

00:52:11It enraged us.

00:52:13We quickly organized

00:52:14to make sure

00:52:15that if Tim Harrington

00:52:16was being accused

00:52:17of doing something to Jay,

00:52:18that he wouldn't get bond.

00:52:19That movement,

00:52:21Justice for Jay,

00:52:22started on social media

00:52:23and quickly grew

00:52:25to much more.

00:52:26Jay Lee matters!

00:52:28Jay Lee matters!

00:52:30Justice for Jay Lee!

00:52:32At this point,

00:52:33these are physical

00:52:34gatherings now.

00:52:35Rallies,

00:52:36retabling,

00:52:37community projects,

00:52:38drives

00:52:38to raise awareness.

00:52:39To raise awareness.

00:52:40Justice for Jay Lee!

00:52:42Justice for Jay Lee!

00:52:44Justice for Jay Lee!

00:52:46The bond hearing

00:52:47got underway.

00:52:48We weren't in the courtroom.

00:52:49We were actually

00:52:50on the lawn

00:52:51of the courthouse

00:52:52just crying

00:52:53as we were

00:52:54getting the information

00:52:56from Twitter.

00:52:57As they were releasing

00:52:58evidence in the courtroom

00:52:59and a new tweet would drop,

00:53:01we would read it

00:53:02and then take a moment

00:53:03to just cry.

00:53:04So this is the first time

00:53:05that you were learning

00:53:06the details

00:53:08of what prosecutors

00:53:09were saying happened.

00:53:10Yes.

00:53:11The details were heavy.

00:53:12I was confused.

00:53:13I was disgusted.

00:53:15The judge initially

00:53:16denied Tim's motion

00:53:17for release,

00:53:18but about four months later,

00:53:19after his lawyers

00:53:20filed a civil suit,

00:53:21the prosecution

00:53:22agreed to release him.

00:53:24Harrington was released

00:53:25from jail yesterday

00:53:26just before three o'clock.

00:53:28And the judge

00:53:29let him out

00:53:29with an ankle monitor

00:53:30on a $250,000 bond.

00:53:33I was like,

00:53:34why did they let him go

00:53:35when they know

00:53:35that they got these

00:53:36things on him?

00:53:37It didn't seem fair

00:53:38or right.

00:53:38It was crazy

00:53:39and everyone's

00:53:39taking pictures of him.

00:53:40So you're seeing him

00:53:41around town.

00:53:41He was just walking free.

00:53:42Just walking free.

00:53:44All the while,

00:53:45Jay's father remained stoic.

00:53:47It bothered me a little

00:53:49to see him walk,

00:53:50but I knew it was

00:53:52a part of the process.

00:53:53And you had faith

00:53:53in the process?

00:53:54Yes.

00:53:56The investigation

00:53:57wasn't over

00:53:58and Jay's father,

00:53:59Jimmy,

00:53:59had faith in

00:54:00Chief McCutcheon.

00:54:01He was an honorable man.

00:54:02Did you trust

00:54:03that he was doing

00:54:04everything that he could

00:54:05to find your son?

00:54:07Absolutely.

00:54:08He's a pastor,

00:54:09a man of faith,

00:54:10as are you.

00:54:11Would you all pray together,

00:54:13call on that faith together?

00:54:15Oh, we did.

00:54:15He and I got so close

00:54:17that I could just be honest

00:54:18and say,

00:54:18hey, I'm frustrated,

00:54:19I'm worried about this.

00:54:21And he would say,

00:54:21hey, let's just pray.

00:54:23It felt like friends

00:54:24that came together

00:54:25that were on

00:54:26one mission together.

00:54:27Nine months

00:54:28after Jaylee went missing,

00:54:30that mission

00:54:31entered a new phase.

00:54:32A grand jury

00:54:33indicted Tim Harrington

00:54:35on upgraded charges

00:54:36of capital murder

00:54:37and kidnapping.

00:54:39But as the case

00:54:40headed to trial,

00:54:41Jay's family

00:54:42and friends wondered

00:54:43if the evidence

00:54:44would be strong enough

00:54:45to convict.

00:54:46Is it almost like

00:54:47you're walking in

00:54:48with one hand tied

00:54:49behind your back?

00:54:49You're having to convince

00:54:50these people

00:54:51that someone is dead

00:54:52without even a body.

00:54:55That's a huge

00:54:55reasonable doubt

00:54:56right there.

00:55:10In December of 2024,

00:55:13two and a half years

00:55:14after Jaylee disappeared,

00:55:15Tim Harrington

00:55:16went on trial

00:55:17for his murder.

00:55:19Jay's father,

00:55:20Jimmy,

00:55:20was ready for it,

00:55:21but he was nervous.

00:55:23Were you worried

00:55:24going in?

00:55:26I think I was a little.

00:55:28I even remember

00:55:29praying one night

00:55:30for the Lord

00:55:31to give me strength

00:55:32if it didn't come,

00:55:34if he was to walk.

00:55:36My name is Gwen Ago.

00:55:38Gwen Ago,

00:55:39D.A. Ben Creekmore's

00:55:40co-counsel,

00:55:41let off the prosecution's case.

00:55:43Did you have a concern

00:55:44that where we are

00:55:46in Mississippi,

00:55:46in the South,

00:55:47that it could make

00:55:49a jury less sympathetic

00:55:50to Jay?

00:55:51One hundred percent

00:55:52because of people's

00:55:54just sort of ignorance

00:55:55and lack of understanding

00:55:56that Jay's just like

00:55:58you or me,

00:55:59that he was just

00:55:59a college kid

00:56:00whose parents supported him

00:56:01like anyone else's

00:56:03kid and their parents.

00:56:04So Coop was Jay.

00:56:07He was vibrant.

00:56:11He walked in his own feet.

00:56:13If he wanted to wear heels

00:56:15that thing,

00:56:16he was going to wear heels.

00:56:16But he was more than just that.

00:56:19You're getting geared.

00:56:20He's standing oriented.

00:56:21He loved his mother

00:56:23more than he makes

00:56:25hope for you.

00:56:26And that's why Ago

00:56:27called Jay's mother

00:56:28Stephanie to the stand.

00:56:30What did you want the jurors

00:56:32to take away from your words?

00:56:34I wanted them to see

00:56:35that I was a mother

00:56:37that was for sure

00:56:39that something had happened

00:56:41with my child

00:56:42and that he was no longer

00:56:44here with us.

00:56:46Stephanie told the jury

00:56:48she knew something was wrong

00:56:49when she didn't get

00:56:50that birthday phone call.

00:56:52Jay would call me

00:56:53every year on my birthday

00:56:55to sing happy birthday

00:56:56no matter what time it was.

00:56:58She also told the jury

00:57:00she had access

00:57:01to his credit card

00:57:02and bank accounts

00:57:03and all activity stopped

00:57:05on July 8, 2022.

00:57:07As you were up there,

00:57:09what gave you strength?

00:57:11The support of my family.

00:57:14Looking out at my children

00:57:15and my husband.

00:57:18Knowing that they were there.

00:57:20And who was it a picture of?

00:57:22I apologize.

00:57:22It's my son Jay Lee.

00:57:24That's was the first day

00:57:25of his first job

00:57:26when he first graduated

00:57:27high school.

00:57:28Her heart was broken.

00:57:30I've always said that

00:57:32I admire her strength

00:57:34to do it.

00:57:35The strength that God gave her

00:57:36to just get up there

00:57:37and do that.

00:57:38I saw her as a hero.

00:57:40I knew I had to do this

00:57:41with Jay.

00:57:43I had to be a voice for him.

00:57:46Next, the prosecution

00:57:47had to prove

00:57:48that Tim Harrington

00:57:49murdered Jay

00:57:50to protect his own reputation.

00:57:53Jay's friend, Khalid Fears,

00:57:55told the jury

00:57:55how he warned Jay

00:57:57not to hook up

00:57:58with a guy

00:57:58who was on the down low.

00:58:00I said they will kill you

00:58:01before that dirty little secret

00:58:02gets exposed.

00:58:04And that,

00:58:05prosecutors said,

00:58:06was precisely

00:58:07why Tim killed Jay.

00:58:09Detective Ryan Baker

00:58:11told the jury

00:58:11about another message

00:58:13Jay sent Tim

00:58:14right after he left

00:58:15Tim's apartment

00:58:16in a huff.

00:58:17It was 4.36 a.m.

00:58:19Jay Lee sent it

00:58:21to Timothy Harrington

00:58:22and says,

00:58:23I just wanted

00:58:24to be able

00:58:25to say

00:58:25I had you be DL.

00:58:28Again,

00:58:29fun to have been

00:58:29the first guy

00:58:30experiment over.

00:58:33The prosecution

00:58:34argued

00:58:34Tim took that message

00:58:36as a threat

00:58:36that Jay

00:58:37was going to out him.

00:58:39Chief McCutcheon

00:58:40said the motive

00:58:40came down

00:58:41down to one word.

00:58:42I wanted to say.

00:58:45Say is a key word

00:58:46because that is a verbal,

00:58:49someone's going

00:58:49to hear that.

00:58:51To me,

00:58:51that was the trigger.

00:58:52That was that hinge

00:58:53moment of,

00:58:54that's the out.

00:58:55The prosecution

00:58:56argued

00:58:57Tim lured Jay back

00:58:58with a promise

00:58:59of sex

00:59:00and then murdered him.

00:59:01To show

00:59:02Tim's true intention,

00:59:04the prosecutor

00:59:04asked Detective Baker

00:59:05about a Google search

00:59:07he found

00:59:07on Tim's phone.

00:59:09One the detective

00:59:10told us

00:59:10was a critical

00:59:11piece of evidence.

00:59:13And this is

00:59:13what I found.

00:59:14How long does it take

00:59:15to strangle someone?

00:59:18This is something

00:59:18that he searched.

00:59:19Yes,

00:59:20five minutes

00:59:20before Jay Lee

00:59:21got there.

00:59:22How crucial was that?

00:59:23Extremely crucial.

00:59:24It helped us

00:59:25come up with intent

00:59:26to kill.

00:59:27And if that

00:59:28wasn't incriminating enough,

00:59:29the prosecution

00:59:30had an ace

00:59:31in the hole.

00:59:33Prosecutors

00:59:33showed jurors

00:59:34that video

00:59:34of the jogger

00:59:35running away

00:59:36from the Molly Bar

00:59:37Trail's

00:59:38apartment complex

00:59:39where Jay's car

00:59:39was found

00:59:40and later

00:59:41getting into

00:59:41a white car

00:59:42at a gas station.

00:59:43And then

00:59:44they heard

00:59:45from this man.

00:59:46My name is

00:59:47Keziah Carter.

00:59:48Keziah Carter

00:59:49told the jury

00:59:50he was driving

00:59:51the white car

00:59:51that morning

00:59:52and he picked up

00:59:53the jogger

00:59:54because he knew him.

00:59:55It was Tim Harrington.

00:59:56I seen it was him

00:59:58and I blew

00:59:58the horn

00:59:59speaking

01:00:00and he

01:00:01waved me down.

01:00:02So I turned

01:00:03back around

01:00:04and got into

01:00:05the gas station.

01:00:06He asked me

01:00:07for a ride

01:00:08to take him

01:00:08back home

01:00:09to Lafayette

01:00:09because he had

01:00:10a good job.

01:00:11The prosecutors

01:00:12showed jurors

01:00:13how Tim drove

01:00:14that box truck

01:00:15to his parents'

01:00:16house,

01:00:16loaded it

01:00:17with a wheelbarrow

01:00:18and shovel,

01:00:18then left

01:00:19his cell phone

01:00:20in his parents'

01:00:21home

01:00:21as he disappeared

01:00:22for almost an hour.

01:00:24And they showed

01:00:25the jury

01:00:25Tim's conversation

01:00:26with police

01:00:27at his apartment

01:00:28where he lied

01:00:29repeatedly.

01:00:30And he was like,

01:00:31you know,

01:00:32I got you

01:00:33and blah, blah, blah.

01:00:34I was like,

01:00:34cool, you know.

01:00:35We just chilled

01:00:36and talked

01:00:37and he went back

01:00:38to his apartment.

01:00:39That was it.

01:00:40Yeah.

01:00:40He don't have

01:00:41a sexual relationship

01:00:42of any kind?

01:00:43Nah, not so.

01:00:44DA Ben Creekmore

01:00:46said that

01:00:46was the key

01:00:47to their case.

01:00:48Even though

01:00:49we didn't have

01:00:49a confession,

01:00:51sometimes I'd

01:00:52much prefer

01:00:54lies

01:00:55in an interview

01:00:56over a confession.

01:00:58He lied to his church,

01:01:00his family,

01:01:01his friends.

01:01:02He lied to Jay Lee

01:01:03and gave him

01:01:03over that time

01:01:04because he had

01:01:05a problem

01:01:05that he had to fix.

01:01:07Then,

01:01:08he lied to the police

01:01:09about everything

01:01:10in order to protect

01:01:12that lie.

01:01:13He had to get

01:01:14a joke

01:01:14and that's what he did.

01:01:17But the defense

01:01:18had some ammunition

01:01:19of its own

01:01:20and it went right

01:01:21back to the prosecution's

01:01:22biggest problem.

01:01:23With no body,

01:01:25where was the proof

01:01:26of first-degree murder?

01:01:28Proof of any death

01:01:29whatsoever.

01:01:32Zero.

01:01:34DNA evidence.

01:01:48The prosecution

01:01:49had presented

01:01:50a mountain

01:01:51of circumstantial evidence

01:01:52against Tim Harrington.

01:01:54Now,

01:01:55defense attorney

01:01:55Kevin Horan

01:01:56was about to tell

01:01:57the jury

01:01:57what evidence

01:01:58prosecutors

01:01:59did not have.

01:02:0022,000 documents

01:02:02we had provided

01:02:03in the discovery.

01:02:04Seven law enforcement

01:02:06agencies.

01:02:0871 search warrants.

01:02:11And they had recovered

01:02:12not one bit

01:02:15of direct evidence.

01:02:18Horan launched

01:02:19his attack

01:02:20on the prosecution's case,

01:02:21telling the jury

01:02:22there was no evidence

01:02:23in Tim's apartment

01:02:24that he murdered Jay.

01:02:26He grilled

01:02:28Lieutenant Shane Fortner.

01:02:29I ask you

01:02:30if you find

01:02:31any fiber

01:02:32or any trace evidence

01:02:34of any of those items

01:02:36ever having been

01:02:38in his apartment

01:02:40or left in his apartment.

01:02:41No,

01:02:42no fibers of any kind.

01:02:44No blood?

01:02:45No blood.

01:02:47No DNA?

01:02:48No DNA.

01:02:50Horan made sure

01:02:51the jury knew

01:02:52investigators

01:02:53hadn't found anything

01:02:54in that moving truck

01:02:55or on the wheelbarrow

01:02:57and shovel.

01:02:58You got a report

01:02:59of zero evidence

01:03:01showing you

01:03:02that Mr. Lee's body

01:03:06was in

01:03:07that box truck,

01:03:09right?

01:03:10Mr. Lee went missing

01:03:12on July the 8th.

01:03:13We did not get

01:03:14the box truck

01:03:15until July 26th,

01:03:17I believe.

01:03:18Okay.

01:03:19But you didn't find

01:03:20any evidence.

01:03:21You also

01:03:23investigated

01:03:24whether or not

01:03:25the cleaning agents

01:03:26to scrub it down.

01:03:27It appeared

01:03:28visually

01:03:29that any of those things

01:03:30had occurred

01:03:31to the box truck,

01:03:32right?

01:03:32Nothing I'm aware of.

01:03:33No, sir.

01:03:35But there was

01:03:36one piece of evidence

01:03:37that was difficult

01:03:38to explain away.

01:03:39The Google search

01:03:40on Tim's phone.

01:03:42At 5.57 a.m.,

01:03:44Mr. Harrington

01:03:47searches in Google.

01:03:49Does a Google search,

01:03:50how long does it take

01:03:52to strangle someone?

01:03:54Horan asked Jay's friend,

01:03:55Khalid fears about that,

01:03:57suggesting Tim was interested

01:03:59in choking

01:03:59because Jay was

01:04:01as a sexual thrill.

01:04:03We pointed out

01:04:04that y'all had

01:04:05conversations about

01:04:06choking

01:04:08and things of that nature

01:04:09in that conversation.

01:04:11That's not sexual preference,

01:04:12though.

01:04:13Not sexual preference,

01:04:14but sexual conduct,

01:04:15sexual conversations

01:04:16about certain families.

01:04:17Okay.

01:04:19Horan had Khalid read

01:04:20from one of their

01:04:21text exchanges.

01:04:22He says,

01:04:23ooh,

01:04:23you like to choke

01:04:25and to be choked?

01:04:27And your response was?

01:04:29Heavy on it.

01:04:30I felt stripped naked

01:04:31that I was sharing

01:04:32my private,

01:04:34intimate conversations

01:04:35with my friend,

01:04:36with everybody.

01:04:37In fact,

01:04:38between the evidence

01:04:39and the testimony,

01:04:40the trial was

01:04:41full of sex talk.

01:04:43A bit of a shock

01:04:44for the religious crowd.

01:04:46So a lot of the stuff,

01:04:47I was just like,

01:04:49hmm,

01:04:50Lord, have mercy.

01:04:52Horan implied

01:04:53that Google search

01:04:54could have just been

01:04:55Tim researching

01:04:56a sex act

01:04:57he thought Jay

01:04:58wanted to try.

01:04:59Maybe,

01:05:00but what about

01:05:01that message

01:05:02Jay sent Tim

01:05:03that the prosecution

01:05:04said Tim

01:05:05perceived to be

01:05:06a threat?

01:05:07Horan cross-examined

01:05:08the Oxford police chief

01:05:09about that.

01:05:10Do you see anything

01:05:13in there

01:05:14that Jay Lee

01:05:16had threatened

01:05:19my client

01:05:20that he was going

01:05:21to quote-unquote

01:05:22out him at all?

01:05:24At 436,

01:05:26Jay Lee states,

01:05:28I just wanted

01:05:28to say,

01:05:30say,

01:05:30which is outing,

01:05:31that I had you

01:05:32on the DL again,

01:05:33which is the download.

01:05:35Fun to have been

01:05:35your first guy experience.

01:05:37Jay Lee says,

01:05:38I wanted to say,

01:05:40he wanted to out him.

01:05:41But Horan told the jury

01:05:43Tim didn't worry

01:05:45about being outed.

01:05:46Even his deeply

01:05:47religious minister

01:05:48father said

01:05:49it would have been

01:05:50okay with him.

01:05:52As far as

01:05:53Timmy,

01:05:54I assume

01:05:57he treated him

01:05:58like a son

01:05:59or a child

01:06:00like he did

01:06:01all the other children.

01:06:02Sure.

01:06:02You accepted him

01:06:03still as your son

01:06:04if he told him

01:06:05that he was bisexual?

01:06:06If he told him

01:06:07he was bisexual?

01:06:08Do you still accept him

01:06:10and love him

01:06:10like you did

01:06:11your other children?

01:06:11Sure.

01:06:13So was Tim

01:06:14really so afraid

01:06:15of being outed

01:06:16that he murdered Jay?

01:06:18According to the defense,

01:06:20that was a stretch.

01:06:22And once again,

01:06:23Horan said,

01:06:24police still had

01:06:25no proof

01:06:26that Jay was even dead.

01:06:28A painful reminder

01:06:29for the chief.

01:06:33We've been looking

01:06:34for Jay Lee's body

01:06:37for two years

01:06:39and we're not

01:06:40going to stop

01:06:40until we find him.

01:06:41And I can guarantee

01:06:42you that.

01:06:44But they had not

01:06:45found him

01:06:46and therefore,

01:06:47Horan told the jury

01:06:48the prosecution

01:06:49had not proven

01:06:50its case.

01:06:51Ladies and gentlemen,

01:06:55you've got to look

01:06:56at the firm

01:06:58and the proof

01:06:58in this case.

01:06:59The firm and the proof

01:06:59is beyond

01:07:00the reasonable doubt.

01:07:01The most reasonable

01:07:02burden

01:07:03and the one

01:07:04that's supported

01:07:04by the lack of evidence

01:07:07is not him.

01:07:09Thank you.

01:07:10The case was headed

01:07:11to the jury

01:07:12and the court

01:07:13was in for a surprise.

01:07:16How did you find out

01:07:17what had happened?

01:07:19I'm sorry.

01:07:20It's okay.

01:07:21Holy cow.

01:07:37It seemed so simple

01:07:39to the people

01:07:40who loved Jay Lee.

01:07:42He was clearly dead

01:07:44and Tim Harrington

01:07:45most certainly killed him.

01:07:47So as the case

01:07:48went to the jury,

01:07:49Jay's sister

01:07:50was counting on

01:07:51a quick verdict.

01:07:52And they go back

01:07:53and they're deliberating.

01:07:54How are you feeling?

01:07:55I was feeling

01:07:56very confident.

01:07:57When I tell you

01:07:58my confidence

01:07:59was up the roof,

01:08:00I felt like

01:08:01I was Jay that day.

01:08:02But the jury

01:08:03had to weigh

01:08:04all the evidence

01:08:05and the defense

01:08:05had argued

01:08:06there was no blood,

01:08:08no DNA or fibers,

01:08:10not even a body

01:08:11that linked Harrington

01:08:12to murder.

01:08:13After four hours,

01:08:15the jury sent

01:08:15a note to the judge.

01:08:16We have a note

01:08:17from the jury

01:08:18that says

01:08:19we feel confident

01:08:20we are not able

01:08:21to reach

01:08:21a unanimous decision.

01:08:23They were deadlocked.

01:08:24He encouraged them

01:08:25to dig a little deeper.

01:08:26I'm going to send you back.

01:08:28I was like,

01:08:28okay,

01:08:29what in the world

01:08:31is going on?

01:08:32Like,

01:08:32why are y'all

01:08:32taking so long

01:08:33to just come

01:08:34to an agreement

01:08:35when it's there,

01:08:37it's clear?

01:08:38The prosecution

01:08:39and defense knew

01:08:40it could go either way.

01:08:42So as the jury deliberated,

01:08:44they were discussing

01:08:44a plea deal.

01:08:46The number one thing

01:08:49that any plea offer

01:08:51is going to require,

01:08:52tell us what you did

01:08:54with J. Lee.

01:08:55We wanted Mr. Jimmy,

01:08:56we wanted Miss Stephanie

01:08:57to be able to bury

01:08:58their son.

01:08:59They deserve that.

01:09:00But Harrington

01:09:01turned the deal down

01:09:02and the jurors

01:09:03kept talking

01:09:04to no avail.

01:09:06All right,

01:09:06ladies and gentlemen,

01:09:07the jury,

01:09:08I have received

01:09:09another note

01:09:09that says

01:09:11we are unable

01:09:13to reach an agreement.

01:09:14I'm going to

01:09:15declare a mistrial.

01:09:16After a total

01:09:17of nine and a half

01:09:18hours of deliberations,

01:09:20a mistrial.

01:09:22Just sick,

01:09:23you know,

01:09:23just sick

01:09:25for the family,

01:09:27for your team,

01:09:28for justice.

01:09:29One of the things

01:09:30that bothered me

01:09:31worse than anything

01:09:33was to watch

01:09:34Timothy get up

01:09:36and arrogantly

01:09:37tell his folks,

01:09:38come on,

01:09:38let's go.

01:09:40The arrogance

01:09:42of it,

01:09:43you know,

01:09:45but I had to

01:09:46go through

01:09:46a lot of praying

01:09:47behind that.

01:09:48But it took

01:09:48a lot of prayer

01:09:49for you to stay calm.

01:09:50Yes.

01:09:50For you to not

01:09:51let that anger

01:09:52take over.

01:09:53Yes, it did.

01:09:55In that moment,

01:09:56Chief McCutcheon

01:09:56wanted to be there

01:09:57for the man

01:09:58he now called

01:09:59his friend.

01:09:59He took Jimmy's hand.

01:10:01He said,

01:10:02oh, it ain't over.

01:10:04So that,

01:10:05you know,

01:10:06that was the encouragement

01:10:07I really needed

01:10:08at that time.

01:10:09I'll never forget

01:10:10we all left

01:10:12the courthouse.

01:10:13We go back

01:10:13to the district

01:10:14attorney's office

01:10:15and it was,

01:10:16you know what,

01:10:18tomorrow's a new day.

01:10:20Let's get back

01:10:21after it

01:10:22and let's go find

01:10:23Jay and let's

01:10:24bring this thing

01:10:25home for the Lee

01:10:25family.

01:10:27And then,

01:10:28seven weeks later,

01:10:29as prosecutors

01:10:30were preparing

01:10:31for a second trial,

01:10:32unbelievably,

01:10:33it happened.

01:10:35Right here

01:10:35in this patch

01:10:36of forgotten woods

01:10:37about 20 miles

01:10:38from the home

01:10:39of Tim Harrington's

01:10:40parents.

01:10:41Jay Lee had been

01:10:42gone for about

01:10:43two and a half years

01:10:44when,

01:10:45on a cold February

01:10:46day,

01:10:47the property's

01:10:48owner happened

01:10:49upon what

01:10:50appeared to be

01:10:51remains,

01:10:52human remains.

01:10:54He called 911.

01:10:56I'll walk

01:10:57down the hill

01:10:57and make sure

01:10:59to watch where

01:11:00I'll walk

01:11:00to make sure

01:11:01I did stuff

01:11:01on any evidence.

01:11:02Carroll County

01:11:03Sheriff's investigators

01:11:04Jerry Bankston

01:11:05and Tucker Banks

01:11:06were among the first

01:11:07on the scene.

01:11:08I see what appears

01:11:09to be a human skull

01:11:10laying on the ground

01:11:12right over here.

01:11:13There were a few

01:11:14other bones.

01:11:15I believe there

01:11:15was a pelvis bone

01:11:16and an arm bone

01:11:18or another leg bone

01:11:20laying in close

01:11:21proximity to this tree

01:11:21also.

01:11:22Some of the remains

01:11:24were found wrapped

01:11:25in a blanket.

01:11:26It was laying

01:11:27here beside this stump.

01:11:30It had duct tape

01:11:31on the outside of it.

01:11:32I'm just picking up

01:11:34dirt basically like this

01:11:35and I'm just sifting

01:11:37it through my hands

01:11:38and a flashlight

01:11:40catches a glimpse

01:11:41of something shiny

01:11:42and I was able

01:11:44to see at that point

01:11:44that it was a piece

01:11:45of jewelry.

01:11:46It was a gold necklace

01:11:48and when Chief

01:11:50McCutcheon got the photo

01:11:51on his phone

01:11:51he knew.

01:11:53As you're racing

01:11:54down to get here

01:11:55what are you thinking?

01:11:58A lot.

01:11:59Is it real

01:12:00you know excitement

01:12:01that of all the sadness

01:12:03that everyone

01:12:04had been through

01:12:04that there was

01:12:05this real possibility

01:12:06that we were going

01:12:07to get to make

01:12:07that phone call

01:12:08that we had promised

01:12:09that we were going

01:12:10to get to make?

01:12:11Talk to me about

01:12:11the moment when you

01:12:13called Jay's father.

01:12:14Oh man, yeah.

01:12:16So it was such a cool

01:12:17moment.

01:12:17I called him

01:12:18and I could tell

01:12:19he was in his truck.

01:12:20You could just hear

01:12:20the wind noise

01:12:21and I said,

01:12:22hey, are you by yourself?

01:12:24And he said,

01:12:25no, Stephanie's with me.

01:12:27He said,

01:12:28can you pull over?

01:12:29And I'm like,

01:12:30okay.

01:12:32When he said pull over

01:12:33I was like,

01:12:33okay, something's going on.

01:12:35So we pulled over

01:12:37and he said,

01:12:38we found Jay.

01:12:39What was it like

01:12:40to hear that?

01:12:41Well, it was like

01:12:42the dream.

01:12:43I mean,

01:12:43I've always dreamed of.

01:12:44Take me to February

01:12:452025.

01:12:47How did you find out

01:12:48what had happened?

01:12:49I'm sorry.

01:12:50It's okay.

01:12:53I didn't know

01:12:53what to expect.

01:12:54That just came up.

01:12:56Just thinking about

01:12:57that day.

01:12:58Holy cow.

01:13:02I can see it just

01:13:03impacts you still.

01:13:04I was very,

01:13:05very relieved.

01:13:07Yeah.

01:13:08And

01:13:11in my mind

01:13:13I always felt

01:13:16that something

01:13:17was missing

01:13:18even if we got

01:13:19a conviction.

01:13:21because we

01:13:21would never know

01:13:23where Jay Lee was.

01:13:25They'd finally

01:13:26fulfilled their promise.

01:13:28They brought Jay home.

01:13:30Chief McCutcheon

01:13:31had no doubt

01:13:32that it was Tim

01:13:32who got rid of Jay's body.

01:13:34What do you believe

01:13:36happened?

01:13:36That he

01:13:36just tossed here?

01:13:38When we got here

01:13:39and was kind of

01:13:40explained what

01:13:41was found initially,

01:13:42you have to believe

01:13:43he pulled up

01:13:44in the box truck,

01:13:45pops the top

01:13:46and then just pitches him

01:13:47off into the woods.

01:13:48But could they

01:13:50prove it?

01:13:50They found

01:13:51a body

01:13:53that was,

01:13:55well,

01:13:55not a body,

01:13:56they found a skeleton.

01:13:57It got us

01:13:58the direct evidence

01:14:00that he was dead.

01:14:02Now,

01:14:02was he killed?

01:14:04That question

01:14:05still remained.

01:14:21Jay Lee was finally home

01:14:24and it was time

01:14:25to say goodbye.

01:14:28Two weeks

01:14:29after Jay's remains

01:14:30were found,

01:14:31hundreds of people

01:14:32came to his funeral

01:14:33to bid him

01:14:34a tearful farewell.

01:14:37What stand out

01:14:38to you the most

01:14:39about that funeral?

01:14:41The gold casket.

01:14:43Hmm.

01:14:44I know Jay

01:14:44would have been like

01:14:49overextounded,

01:14:50like,

01:14:50oh,

01:14:51y'all got gold.

01:14:55It was a sense

01:14:56of closure.

01:14:57It was a sense

01:14:58of,

01:14:59okay,

01:15:00he came home.

01:15:03Jay came home.

01:15:08But prosecutors

01:15:09still had work to do.

01:15:11I want to talk about

01:15:12the state

01:15:13that you found

01:15:14Jay Lee

01:15:14in.

01:15:15His body

01:15:16was decomposed.

01:15:18There was

01:15:19no DNA

01:15:20evidence

01:15:21to take from it.

01:15:22The hyoid bone,

01:15:24which

01:15:24typically indicates

01:15:26strangulation

01:15:27if it's broken,

01:15:28that was still intact.

01:15:29There were some

01:15:30things there

01:15:31that the defense

01:15:32could certainly

01:15:33poke holes in.

01:15:34Mm-hmm.

01:15:35Finding the body,

01:15:36did that yield

01:15:37as much

01:15:37evidence

01:15:38as you expected

01:15:39it would?

01:15:40Yeah.

01:15:42I'll tell you

01:15:43about that.

01:15:45Didn't really know.

01:15:46But when the crime lab

01:15:47reported back,

01:15:48investigators realized

01:15:50they did have something,

01:15:51and it was big.

01:15:53The prosecution

01:15:54knew it,

01:15:55and so did

01:15:56the defense.

01:15:57Yes,

01:15:57absolutely.

01:15:58And it was a tape

01:15:59that was found

01:16:00on that body.

01:16:00The duct tape?

01:16:01The duct tape,

01:16:02yes.

01:16:03And I walk

01:16:03out of here.

01:16:04Defense attorney

01:16:05Aprim Sellers

01:16:06had taken over

01:16:07Tim Harrington's case.

01:16:08This is objectively

01:16:09a very damning

01:16:11piece of evidence

01:16:11for your client.

01:16:12Very much so.

01:16:14Now,

01:16:15why would that be?

01:16:16Remember,

01:16:17investigators

01:16:18had found

01:16:18a roll of duct tape

01:16:19in Tim Harrington's

01:16:20apartment.

01:16:21They sent that tape

01:16:22and the duct tape

01:16:23from the body site

01:16:24to the FBI.

01:16:26And they were able

01:16:28to,

01:16:28I'm going to say,

01:16:30perfectly match

01:16:30the tear pattern

01:16:32from that roll

01:16:34of duct tape

01:16:34out of Tim's apartment

01:16:35to an end

01:16:37that was wrapped

01:16:39around Jay Lee's body.

01:16:41Match like puzzle pieces?

01:16:42Like a puzzle piece.

01:16:43Wow.

01:16:45Given this new evidence,

01:16:47the defense attorney

01:16:47decided it was time

01:16:49to talk to Tim Harrington

01:16:50and his family.

01:16:52I just walked it

01:16:53piece by piece

01:16:53from a standpoint

01:16:54of this is what

01:16:55they're about to try.

01:16:56So you're giving him

01:16:56a reality check

01:16:57at this point.

01:16:58Reality check.

01:16:59Suddenly,

01:17:00Tim Harrington

01:17:00was very interested

01:17:02in a plea deal.

01:17:03At this point,

01:17:04you all found Jay.

01:17:06And now he's asking

01:17:07for a plea deal.

01:17:08Were you thinking,

01:17:10you're a little too late?

01:17:11I was thinking

01:17:12in that sense,

01:17:13but more importantly,

01:17:15my thought was

01:17:17averted her

01:17:18from going through that.

01:17:21To spare Stephanie

01:17:22the pain of testifying

01:17:24at yet another trial,

01:17:25the family was leaning

01:17:27toward a deal.

01:17:28But prosecutors

01:17:29needed some convincing.

01:17:30More than anything,

01:17:32they wanted Tim Harrington

01:17:33to admit to what he did.

01:17:36I needed to know

01:17:38that he was going to say

01:17:41that he killed Jay Lee,

01:17:45that this wasn't an accident.

01:17:47Guenago met with Harrington

01:17:48and his attorney,

01:17:49and that's when Harrington

01:17:51confessed to everything.

01:17:53He told me,

01:17:55through a lot of tears,

01:17:57that he had strangled him.

01:17:58Did he seem genuinely remorseful?

01:18:00To me, he did.

01:18:01And it wasn't just,

01:18:03you know, slow cry.

01:18:05It was a lot of tears,

01:18:06and it was physical.

01:18:08You could see the physical

01:18:09reactions in his body.

01:18:11Did he give you details?

01:18:11What did he tell you?

01:18:12He confirmed that text message

01:18:13was a trigger for him.

01:18:15The down-low message?

01:18:16The down-low message, yeah.

01:18:18Harrington told Argo

01:18:19that he'd intended to bury Jay,

01:18:21but when he looked into his dead face,

01:18:23he panicked and dumped him.

01:18:26He said that he couldn't call the police

01:18:28because he just knew

01:18:29that he had killed somebody,

01:18:30and he just knew it was his fault.

01:18:33So on December 1st, 2025,

01:18:35just as jurors were being selected

01:18:38for trial number two,

01:18:39Tim Harrington pleaded guilty

01:18:41to second-degree murder

01:18:42and tampering with a body.

01:18:45At the sentencing hearing,

01:18:47Jay's father had a message

01:18:48for his son's killer.

01:18:49I hadn't said much

01:18:52in this entire trial,

01:18:54but with my broken heart,

01:18:59I'm standing God's love to you.

01:19:02I want to remind you

01:19:05of God's redemptive plan.

01:19:10The judge sentenced Harrington

01:19:12to 40 years in prison.

01:19:14He will be eligible for parole

01:19:15at the age of 58.

01:19:18That's still enough time

01:19:19to get out of prison

01:19:20and live a whole second life.

01:19:23Yeah, it is.

01:19:24Are you okay with that possibility?

01:19:27I am.

01:19:28We can't talk about God's grace

01:19:30and not be completely understanding

01:19:33of how it works.

01:19:35It's always been about the family.

01:19:36I mean, if they felt like it was justice,

01:19:38then it was justice for me.

01:19:40And once the Lees felt

01:19:43that that was justice,

01:19:44it gave me some relief

01:19:45and reprieve to know

01:19:47that they have that closure

01:19:48that they've been lacking for so long.

01:19:53And through closure, action.

01:19:55I'm asking for a bipartisan bill.

01:19:58Jay's family is now pushing

01:20:00for a federal law

01:20:01that would require tech companies

01:20:02to share user data

01:20:04with police and parents

01:20:06when someone under 21 goes missing.

01:20:08The Jay Lee Information Act.

01:20:11I'm hoping that this bill

01:20:13will allow law enforcement

01:20:15to reach out to any social media

01:20:20or communication giant,

01:20:22making it possible

01:20:23that they can get some leads much faster.

01:20:28Jay's family is determined

01:20:30to keep his story and his spirit alive.

01:20:33And that's what Tayla did

01:20:35as she led the Oxford Pride Parade,

01:20:38holding Jay's almost life-sized picture.

01:20:41For victims who are members

01:20:42of the LGBTQIA community,

01:20:44what do you hope this means for them?

01:20:46I hope this means

01:20:47that there is some type of hope out there.

01:20:50Keep fighting

01:20:51because justice is right around the corner.

01:20:54In an extraordinary statement

01:20:56at Tim Harrington's sentencing,

01:20:57the judge had something to say about that.

01:21:00The state of Mississippi

01:21:01does not have a good reputation

01:21:03in matters concerning this,

01:21:05quite frankly.

01:21:06I may say more than I should say.

01:21:09But when I heard

01:21:11that we'd been getting national publicity

01:21:15over Mr. Lee's death

01:21:19and the fact that he lived a lifestyle

01:21:24that was different

01:21:24from most people in Mississippi,

01:21:28I assumed that a lot of people

01:21:30in this country thought

01:21:33that there will not be justice in this case.

01:21:38I want the world to know

01:21:39that Mississippi got it right this time.

01:21:43Mississippi did get it right this time

01:21:46because they didn't give up on Jay.

01:21:49They didn't stop fighting for Jay.

01:21:52And that's a beautiful moment

01:21:54that they did not give up.

01:22:00That's all for this edition of Dateline.

01:22:02And don't forget to check out

01:22:03our Talking Dateline podcast

01:22:05in which we'll go behind the scenes

01:22:07of tonight's episode.

01:22:09Available Wednesday in the Dateline feed

01:22:11wherever you get your podcasts.

01:22:13We're off for the next three weeks

01:22:15as NBC brings you coverage

01:22:17of the Winter Olympic Games

01:22:18in Milan-Cortina.

01:22:19So we'll see you back here

01:22:21February 27th at 9, 8 central time.

01:22:25I'm Lester Holt.

01:22:26For all of us at NBC News,

01:22:28good night.

Dateline NBC - Season 35 - Episode 03: Bringing Jay Home EngSub

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended