Bringing Jay Home

[00:00] Hi, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor and host of the NBC News podcast, The Drink. And this month I'm grabbing a Hugo Spritz with former reality star Lauren Conrad here at The Drink. We love learning about someone's journey to the top. And Lauren and I, we go back to the very beginning of her extraordinary story. We talk about why she always saw reality TV as temporary for her, the scrutiny she faced in the public eye, and why she says she'll never watch Laguna Beach again. [00:30] Join us for the drink. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts. [00:36] I really love the Start Today app. They care about how I feel. It's the staff on the app. It's the connections you make. Without good mental and physical health, you have nothing. It tells me how to cook to keep myself healthy. I look at my app and I'm like, wow, I didn't know I did 7,000 steps today. Start Today meets you where you are. Download the Start Today Wellness app now on your Apple or Android device. Terms apply. See app for details. [01:06] Tonight on Dateline. Jay's number one thing was, people will know my name. People will know me. Jay Lee was one in a million at Ole Miss. He was regularly on social media. Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok. All of a sudden that stopped. We got the call from the University Police Department about, hey, Jay Lee's missing. I didn't know what could have happened to him. We start looking at who he's talking to on Snapchat. We see this name, Red Eye 24.

[01:36] changes. It seemed like Jaylee was upset. If you mess with those men, something bad could happen to you. Because of the secret, he has it all to lose. This is the middle of the summer here in Mississippi. Somebody wearing a hoodie caught our eye. He looks at the trash can big enough to put a body in. What type of punishment is this? It's like emotional torture. This humble, loving family, they were going to get everything that we had. We started sifting through decaying leaves and there [02:06] a piece of jewelry. That was the only piece that we didn't have. Now we've got it. Let's go. A victim whose life was an open book and a suspect whose life was a story of secrets. I'm Lester Holt and this is Dateline. [02:30] Here's Blaine Alexander with Bringing Jay Home. [02:36] By all appearances, it was just another piece of trash, strewn amongst the tires and tossed junk in these forgotten woods of rural Mississippi. And I'm just sifting it through my hands and a flashlight catches a glimpse. [02:57] of something shiny. It was a most unlikely discovery. The final piece of a tragic puzzle that began two and a half years earlier.

[03:09] When I didn't get that call, I told my husband something's going on. [03:13] This story is about outrage. Where is Zay? Where is Zay? And determination. You start stacking those pebbles. [03:23] And all of a sudden, everything's starting to point in one direction. It's about an extraordinary friendship. [03:29] You saw a family that was truly broken, that you felt so broken for them. And a dormant truth awakened. How did you find out what had happened? [03:40] I'm sorry. [03:42] But here, in the heart of the Bible Belt, this story is also about faith. And that eternal hope that what's done in the darkness will always come to light. I know God's going to make a way. [03:59] but I'm going to keep saying Jay's coming home. [04:16] a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi in Oxford. She was just checking in, something she'd done daily since they were kids. [04:25] Where are you at? What you eating today? What you doing tomorrow? You guys were literally walking each other through your day. Step by step. In real time. In real time. Jay loved his sister, but he was a mama's boy through and through. [04:39] As soon as he knew that mom was up and moving,

[04:43] he was gonna come. [04:44] Jay's parents, Stephanie, a retail manager, and Jimmy, a truck driver and minister. [04:50] And it's not just one time, it's two or three times a day. [04:55] There wasn't a day that went by that you didn't talk to him. Not a day went by. [05:00] Until that hot summer day in July, which was strange, inexplicable, really. It was my birthday. And me knowing Jay, he would call me and sing happy birthday all night long before two or three in the morning. [05:16] She did get a text from Jay at 2 a.m. It's your birthday, lady, he wrote. I love you. But after that, silence. [05:25] As a mom, you knew in your heart [05:27] Something was wrong. I knew, yes. Jay, the youngest of Stephanie's four children, had always shared his cell phone location with his mom. [05:36] It started back in high school. [05:38] So we're keeping tabs on each other, you know. I can roll over in the bed at two o'clock in the morning, say, "Okay, he's at home." Can I say, it is remarkable [05:45] that once he went off to college, he kept that location on. He did. But now? [05:51] The location was turned off just like that. [05:53] you know? [05:54] We just didn't know what to think. Taylor reached out to Jay's college friend, Jose Reyes. Which was odd because I had never had a conversation with Taylor. And she kind of was just asking, hey, boo, have you heard from Jay Lee? He tried to call and text his friend, but none went through. So now, almost a day since Jay had last texted his mom, Jose drove to his friend's campus apartment to check things out. I went up and I knocked on his door. No one opened the door.

[06:24] Thank you. [06:24] I could hear his dog Lexi on the other side of the door. Another red flag. Jose knew Jay was obsessed with Lexi. [06:33] Everyone knew it. He took her everywhere, to shops and museums, on road trips, [06:38] Even the class. [06:40] That boy, he would not leave Lexi like that alone. Not for that long. That's out of character. Out of character for Jay Lee, for sure. [06:49] Jay's mom knew it was time to call police. She reached out to the University of Mississippi PD to request a welfare check. The dispatcher notified Captain Jane Mahan, a 19-year veteran of the Ole Miss Police Force. [07:04] She was very insistent. The mom called 6:00 a.m. the next morning, looking for an update, expressing I have still not heard from my son. This is [07:15] Very unusual type behavior for him. Captain Mahan sent officers to Jay's apartment. From their conversations with Jay's mom, police knew about the car Jay owned, a black Ford Fusion with a distinctive gold racing stripe on its hood. But they couldn't find it in the parking lot. Upstairs, Jay's door was slightly open. They knocked, no answer. So they went inside. He's not there. Nobody's in the apartment. Did it look like there were any signs of a struggle? [07:45] or anything like that? No, the apartment looked like a college individual's apartment. Food here and there on the counter, you know, and Jay's things were in his room. University police checked out the hospitals and jails in the area to see if somehow Jay had wound up in the ER or behind bars. Nothing. What's more, they learned, Jay hadn't shown up to work for the past two days.

[08:15] and she had a hunch. We're looking for any clue at all and there's a camera right here outside of Jay's apartment. Looking right at his door? Yes ma'am. It was tremendous in this investigation being able to identify when Jay was leaving his apartment. Not just when but how. [08:36] The mystery of what happened to Jay would haunt an entire community. I felt scared. As of while [08:45] said that the guy told him he was going to do something that he had never done before. [08:50] And reveal a most unlikely suspect. He was giving the advice on, you know, how to stay out of trouble. And this is what I found. How long does it take to strangle someone? All that before one final stunning revelation. I was like, okay, Lord, what type of punishment is this? [09:23] Jaylee's family was concerned on the day he went missing. By day two, they were panicked. I know I was doing at least 24 to 25 calls a minute. [09:36] Back to back. [09:37] back to back, back to back, back to back, back to back, back to back, because it kept going to voicemail. Jay's friend Jose monitored Jay's social media accounts. For years, Jay had posted something almost daily, but now nothing. He was always my mini little internet celebrity, always enjoying his posts, his stories, his tweets.

[09:57] So he was very active on social media. Very active. Yes. As Jay's family and friends became increasingly desperate, University Police Captain Jane Mahan was pursuing her first lead, the security footage from that camera facing Jay's apartment. She rewound it to 4.01 a.m. on July 8th, and there he was, Jay leaving his apartment. It was a strange sight. Jay was wearing a robe, slippers, and a gold bonnet, [10:27] and out of bed and just sleepwalked right out the door. Wearing that outfit, robe, bonnet, slippers, kind of unusual. It appears maybe he's just running off campus for a minute or two and then coming back. [10:39] Like a quick errand. Right. Absolutely. [10:42] Tells me Jay intended on coming back, coming back home. [10:47] And she was right. About 30 minutes later. He comes back in, same clothing, goes in. Okay. Then around 5.58, the same morning, Jay comes back out of his apartment. [11:00] He gets into his car, and then he leaves out of the parking lot and goes off campus. But this time, Jay didn't return. Jay Lee was definitely a night owl. He had a very strange sleep schedule. Braylon Johnson was one of Jay's best friends and his former roommate. He definitely wasn't a casual person. He didn't leave the house in his bathrobe very often. He would get dressed.

[11:30] walk his dog. [11:31] There were many times that I saw him leaving the house to walk his dog, to walk Lexi in heels. Yep, heels. Jay was out and proud. And when it came to fashion, he loved to make a statement. [11:47] And I was getting cat caught in the street and stuff, I guess because I had her on this revealing outfit. [12:01] put on some cheetah print heels. And it was gonna look good. And if you didn't like it or well, he was still gonna shred it. - When you close your eyes and think about your brother, what's the first thing that comes to mind? [12:15] - Unapologetically happy. [12:17] Would you say that it takes a lot of courage to be openly gay here in Oxford, Mississippi? A lot of courage. Yes. [12:27] Especially if, like Jay, you decide to run for Ole Miss Homecoming King. Oh, Jay, this is your homecoming king. So go ahead. Take risks. Prosperity. And be you. [12:47] Face to face? Face to face, yes. What were people saying? Talking about him wearing heels and using the N-word, just saying his campaign, it didn't represent Ole Miss. And even though he didn't win, he took that as an opportunity to advocate on campus for minority groups of, hey, this is what my experience is like doing something that I have a right as a student to do.

[13:17] His goal... [13:19] I mean, I think from [13:20] day one to be an impact on people's lives. [13:24] I can remember him [13:27] Being born, I was in the room. [13:30] the first thing that [13:31] came out with his [13:33] Yes. [13:34] So I knew he was going to be a fighter. [13:37] You're a minister. [13:38] You all are a family of very deep faith. [13:42] Living. [13:43] in the Deep South. [13:44] Yes. [13:45] A lot of kids in his situation may have been very afraid to be who they truly were and be open about their sexuality for fear that their parents wouldn't accept them. [13:55] You know, you can't live your child's life. [13:58] That's something that I think you as a parent. [14:01] should step back and let them know that regardless of what route you take, I'm here for you. [14:06] I'm going to show you love and I'm going to have your back. Jimmy says he tried to instill in his son the lessons his father taught him. [14:15] especially this one. Be who you are or nothing at all. [14:19] Another thing Jay was, a fantastic student. He graduated top ten in his high school class, and when he set off to Ole Miss, he left with a rather ambitious goal. [14:30] Graduate in three years. [14:32] He said, "Y'all watch my smoke." [14:34] I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna get it done. And he did it, literally. He wasn't playing, he was 100% serious about his education, [14:42] and his future. Jay was just as serious about his faith. He grew up in the church. Each and every Sunday he would get up and have to do a testimony and he was going to thank God for what he's done in his life. So when people look at Jay, they see the confidence, but you're saying really what's underneath it

[15:03] It's faith. Yeah. And he never swayed from it. It was that faith that shaped Jay's plans for his future. He was pursuing a master's degree in social work. He interned at Oxford's Child Protective Services. And he'd organized a baby formula drive for low-income families, scheduled for the very day he went missing. [15:25] That just further confirmed my fears that someone has done something to Jay Lee. Because I knew if he organized an event like that, he wouldn't miss it. He wouldn't bail on it before it was complete. So where was Jay? Two days after he vanished, the department put out a missing persons poster, including Jay's graduation photo and a picture of his car. Jay's disappearance was now public. [15:53] The headlines soon followed. - Lee was last seen here at the campus walk apartment [15:59] And so did the fear. Every day that we woke up and there were no updates from the police, it was a nightmare. [16:13] What they did to your family, you're lucky to make it out alive. Streaming on Peacock. These men are going to come after me. Taking them out is my only chance. Put a bullet in your head. From the co-creator of Ozark. Looks like a family was running drugs. Execution style killing is rare for the keys. And it leads on who they might have been running for. The cartel killed my family. I'm gonna kill them.

[16:37] All of them. MIA. Streaming now. Only on Peacock. [16:42] Hey guys, Willie Geist here, reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit-Down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with the biggest rock star of them all, Mick Jagger, to talk about The Stones' latest album and his favorite of the band's iconic records over all these years. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts. [17:13] Not long after university police released Jay's missing persons poster, the calls started rolling in by the hundreds. The most promising lead came from a tow truck driver. He told police that hours after Jay went missing, he found Jay's car in an illegal parking spot. [17:34] was towed from Molly Bar Trails Apartments. Molly Bar Trails, an apartment complex about two and a half miles from Jay's place. [17:45] But it was off campus and out of the jurisdiction of university police. [17:50] The car was here in spot 43, first here at 43. Enter the Oxford Police Department and Detective Ryan Baker, who would lead the investigation from now on. What did you find inside the car? Found Jay Lee's wallet with student ID, his driver's license, credit cards, stuff like that.

[18:07] We couldn't find the car keys or Jolie's phone was not in the car either. [18:11] Are you dusting for fingerprints? Are you trying to get any sort of evidence from that car? [18:16] We actually had it towed to the Mississippi, uh, [18:19] crime lab and they actually processed for fingerprints and so forth and only found Jaylee's fingerprints on the car. [18:25] So no other prints. [18:27] no other DNA, [18:29] Nothing else that indicated anybody else had been inside that car. Not from the car. No. We had some officers come out here and do some knocking talks and we didn't find anybody that really knew Jay Lee or even knew he frequented here. [18:40] or was even here that day. Investigators wondered, did Jay Lee abandon his car at Mollibar Trails, or did someone else? They scrolled through the complex's security video. It showed Jay's car entering Mollibar Trails at 7.25 a.m., about an hour and a half after Jay left his apartment the second time. Could you tell who was behind the wheel? You could not. The glare from the sun... [19:07] and so forth, the way that camera is viewed, you could not tell who was driving the car. Was it Jay? His family and friends were desperately searching for him. [19:16] We pretty much searched almost all of Oxford and a little bit outside of Oxford as well. Was there ever a thought that maybe he had harmed himself? Never. Never. Jay was the type of person that loved his life so much and so truly he lived for himself. [19:37] So Jay, Horman himself, or even thinking about Horman himself,

[19:41] He would never, ever do that. But would someone else harm Jay? Maybe even kill him? As he searched for his son, Jay's father says he couldn't stop that thought from creeping in. One area I looked at, I saw tie marks near a wooded area. [20:01] I went in. What were you thinking when you saw those tire marks? That he may have been dumped in there. [20:07] and [20:08] As a father, I just wanted to get him. [20:12] You know, I just wanted to bring him out of there. [20:16] I'm asking that [20:18] If anyone knows anything about [20:21] or sees anything [20:23] Say something. [20:25] This is my plea that you help find my child. [20:29] Thank you. [20:30] Every day you could see Mr. Lee carrying the weight for the family. Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutcheon updated Jay's family daily. You saw a family that was truly broken, this humble, loving family that you felt so broken for them. I think we took their burden and their hurt back. [20:49] and we put it inside of us to drive us. That's why the chief made a promise, and it was personal. [20:56] I had committed one way or the other. We were going to bring Jay home. I would never have peace. Our team would have never had peace. Their family would have never had peace if we didn't bring Jay home. [21:07] What was the feeling within the LGBTQ community [21:10] as these days were passing with no sign of Jay.

[21:14] Fear. Every day that we woke up and there were no updates from the police, it was a nightmare. Mississippi has no hate crime laws protecting its LGBTQ residents, and advocacy groups have consistently ranked the state as one of the least safe places for queer people in the United States. That was weighing heavily on the minds of Jay's friends, who believed he might be targeted not only because he was openly gay. [21:44] He was also a well-known drag performer. [21:48] - There were definitely a lot of hate and homophobia towards Jay and the way that he presented himself. [21:54] So I definitely was scared because violence in the queer community is so prevalent that I didn't know what could have happened to him. [22:04] within that year in the state of Mississippi, [22:06] There had been two... [22:08] transgender people who had been killed [22:11] Of course, Jay wasn't transgender, but part of the queer community [22:15] Did that heighten the fear? [22:17] Definitely. And we started to think the worst that maybe he was hate crime. Maybe someone did something to him. Was there ever any thought that this could possibly be some sort of a hate crime? We're just trying to collect all the facts and piece all the puzzles together. You consider every aspect of where the investigation can go. Which right now was nowhere. Captain Mahan, still on the case, poured over every detail in that security video.

[22:47] something important. It was the way Jay held his iPhone as he left the apartment. You could tell it was like illuminated. It was lit up and he just held it in his hand like this and he held it. [23:00] the whole way to his vehicle. [23:02] Typically, I don't think people carry their phones like that unless they're talking on their phone. That's big. [23:08] Yes. [23:09] It shows there's somebody out there who... [23:12] was talking to him in the last known moments of where he was. Yes, ma'am. Who was it? And did that person have anything to do with Jay's disappearance? Turns out the first real break in the case was just a phone call away. I'm like, who are you going to see at six o'clock in the morning? [23:46] In the college town of Oxford, Mississippi, news of a missing student had been spreading like crazy. But the queer community was bracing for the possibility that police would do little or nothing about it. [24:00] I mean, no one's shocked when a queer person goes missing in the South, you know. Blake Summers and Jay became friends after Jay started performing in drag shows at Code Pink, an event space Blake founded. You were not confident that... [24:15] quite frankly, police would do their job when it came to trying to find them.

[24:18] I'm not confident in the justice system to prosecute. [24:22] what needs to be done. You know, I mean, our history with police isn't really that great. Did you get a sense that there was this kind of general distrust? [24:29] in the community toward police as they were coming around asking questions investigating i mean i think it's natural with our community to have that distrust you don't know if a queer person a black person will be treated the same as a sorority girl some friends were worried about talking to police for fear of saying the wrong thing or anything that might diminish jay [24:52] I was scared to talk to the police. I didn't want them to think like, "Oh, if you say someone's annoying or young or boisterous that they deserved it or they'd be any more worth investigating." [25:02] There was some reluctancy early on because of just fear of, [25:07] Can you be trusted? Can I be vulnerable with you? Am I safe to talk in this environment? [25:13] A lot of fear. Will law enforcement take this serious? [25:18] I know what policing means to me. I know how passionate I am. But for a group that may not believe that, your words don't matter, your actions do. [25:28] Oxford police would have to earn that trust, starting with Jay's best friend, Jose. He was one of the first people police interviewed. [25:38] They were open to listening and opening to learning. I mean, it clicked in my head. We're in the South. Not many people know the lingo or, you know, the terminology that comes within, you know, the queer space. He kept his guard up, especially when they asked him for an alibi.

[25:56] Were you concerned that they were looking at you? I was concerned. I'm like, I know we're getting desperate and we're trying to look underneath every stone, but... [26:03] I'm not the person you're not looking for. [26:07] I'm Julie's friend. I would never hurt him. Jose gave police his cell, and detectives determined... [26:13] His alibi was solid. [26:15] He was nowhere near Jay when he disappeared. [26:19] I do recall kind of my trust being tested a little. [26:23] But the questions that they asked, I could tell that they definitely weren't giving up. [26:27] Mike, come check this out. He was right. Police were determined to figure out what happened to Jay Lee. [26:33] They hoped this person could help. [26:35] The one talking to Jay on a video call when he left his apartment for the last time. [26:40] Turns out, finding him wasn't hard at all. [26:43] He reached out to them. [26:47] His name is Khalid Fears. He told police he and Jay Lee were close friends. Our friendship consisted a lot of checking in with each other day to day. [26:59] And that's what Khalid was doing the day Jay disappeared. Khalid had worked the night shift, and he remembers talking to Jay throughout the night. [27:07] Once I finished working, I proceeded to call him. And I noticed that he was like leaving his apartment. And my first impression was, where are you going? [27:17] I'm like, who are you going to see at 6 o'clock in the morning? Jay told him he was going to hook up with someone, but he wouldn't give Khalid a name. He told me he was going to see someone that he had saw earlier in the night. He told me that they had gotten into a huge argument and that he would tell me about it later.

[27:37] at the guy, he blocked him from his social media. But the man found a way to reach him anyway. I was like, well, what are you going over there to do? He said that [27:48] The guy told him he was going to do something that he had never done before. [27:53] I want to say it was like a three minute phone call. And he was just like, OK. [27:56] I'm here, I'm gonna let you go. [27:58] And I was just like, "Okay friend, have fun." [28:01] Talk to you later. For police, this was good, concrete information. A three-minute drive from Campus Walk is still a good-sized area, but it kept us centered around where we needed to be. Ryan, take a look at this. Lieutenant Shane Fortner was in charge of Oxford Police's Criminal Investigations Unit. [28:21] So you knew wherever he was going, it was within three minutes of his home. Yes. Who was Jay going to see? [28:28] The search continued. And a closer look at that security video from the apartment complex where Jay's car was found would point the case in a whole new direction. Here's this individual running out of the complex. A running man. Was he somehow connected to Jay Lee's disappearance? That's somebody that wants to get out of the area. They don't want to be here. [28:55] Summertime Mississippi can be an unforgiving place.

[29:10] A relentless heat that just kind of hangs there, stays with you, no relief. [29:18] Such was the pain for Jay Lee's friends and family, now seven days since his disappearance. I started like losing faith. I was like, okay, Lord, what type of punishment is this? [29:34] Investigators were trying to figure out who Jay met up with when he left his apartment that morning. [29:40] We were able to obtain Jay Lee's call detail records, who he talked to previously before he went missing. One man stood out. A restaurant worker, Jay texted shortly before Khalid called him the morning he disappeared. [29:56] Detectives found him and brought him in for questioning. [29:59] What was his demeanor? It was kind of evasive at first, kind of didn't really want to give us a whole lot of information about what he was doing and where he was during the time frame and so forth. The man said he worked that night and went straight home after. Detective Baker said he appeared nervous, fidgety. He denied having a relationship with Jay, but then admitted they had sex once. His reason for not being honest at first? [30:29] and worried his family would find out. [30:33] That raised the detective's suspicion. [30:37] Jay's friend Khalid had told them about men who he described as being on the DL, or the down-low. My definition of DL is just somebody who's living like a double life.

[30:50] So it may be someone who has a family, have a wife, [30:54] Might even have kids, but... [30:56] On the outside, they live their life as a heterosexual person. [31:01] But, you know, in their spare time, they're [31:05] exploring all their fantasies. And that, Khalid told us, can bring trouble. The risk that you take when dealing with people who aren't comfortable with their sexuality is [31:16] Um... [31:17] I remember telling Jay that [31:20] A DL man will kill you before they let their dirty little secret get out. I think that when it comes to download men in the black community, there's definitely a warning on them that if you mess with those men. [31:33] something bad could happen to you. So just inherently... [31:38] The nature of that relationship was a risky one, a dangerous one for Jay Lee. Definitely. And there was more. The restaurant worker told them Jay had blocked him on social media. He did, to a degree, fit the profile of the person that Khalid Fears told you about, right? He did. The man was adamant he had nothing to do with Jay's disappearance. Detectives let him go, but they weren't done digging. [32:04] They got a search warrant for his cell phone to extract his data. [32:09] call detail records, the whole nine yards. [32:12] They also worked to verify his alibi. Could anybody confirm that he was at home? No, there was nobody that we could really confirm. Detectives pulled security video from the restaurant where the man worked.

[32:25] And they learned something else. He had left work a little early that night than he probably should have. [32:31] an hour early, in fact, a detail he left out during his interview. [32:36] Police wondered what else the man might be hiding. He's a person of interest, definitely. But for police, he was by no means the only person of interest. [32:45] Especially after a fellow investigator noticed something on the security video from the Molly Bar Trails apartments where Jay's car was found. Something the others had missed right there. A person running out of the apartment complex about nine and a half minutes after Jay's car pulled in. [33:04] What he was wearing really caught our eye. It's July 8th. It's in the middle of the summer here in Mississippi. It gets warm. Very hot. Very hot. [33:14] somebody wearing a hoodie a pretty heavy heather gray hoodie long sleeves hood up they wanted to track this runner down how close are we to the apartments from where we are you're about a quarter mile from the apartments that direction so when you start pulling surveillance video what do you see the individual that ran out of molly bar trails we see that individual actually start walking [33:38] down the hill. [33:39] and come in front of the gas station here. [33:45] He'd stopped jogging as soon as he exited Malibar Trails. [33:49] And now, here he was at a gas station up the road. We see a car come beside him, and that car actually slows down, and then that same white car circles around.

[34:00] the parking lot and pulls in by a gas pump. They have a brief exchange, it appears, and that individual gets in the car and they drive off. So it's very clear to you immediately that this wasn't somebody out for just a morning run or a morning jog. No, it wasn't. That's somebody that wants to get out of the area. Detectives were convinced it was the jogger who had ditched Jay's car in the apartment complex before fleeing with the unknown driver. [34:30] or who's in the car. We gotta find that car, we gotta figure out who was in the passenger seat. - And whether they had any connection to Jay, [34:38] Could those answers be found in the direct messages in Jay's social media accounts? [34:43] Well, the police were having trouble finding out. They wanted his Snapchat information. He'd been using the app the very morning he went missing. But they felt there wasn't time to file a search warrant and wait for Snapchat to respond. [34:56] So Detective Baker says they filed an emergency request with the company. It was denied. Like basically a roadblock. Desperate, Jay's father Jimmy called Apple with a personal plea. Access to his son's iPhone data. Literally, you know, asked him, this is a missing person. Under the age of 21, this is my child. And I'm trying to see... [35:20] if there's any way we can get login information. Jimmy says the rep assured him they would send him the information, but a second rep told him no. Apple didn't respond to our request for comment. How frustrating was that for you? Very. It was like emotional torture to tell us you can get it.

[35:38] It didn't keep [35:38] over there and said, no, we can't. Meanwhile, time is ticking. Yes. And you were still trying to find him. Still trying to find him. So investigators would have to find another way into Jay's social media accounts. And once they did, what they uncovered was well worth the wait. We see this name, Red Eye 24. [36:11] - Oxford police had a tantalizing new nugget, that overdressed jogger. - So as you're trying to piece everything together, how significant is that? - I think it's very significant 'cause you're talking about somebody that I wanna get out of the area, I don't wanna be seen by anybody. [36:28] - But as they tried to figure out who the jogger was, [36:31] They did figure out who he wasn't, that jittery restaurant worker. [36:37] He went home and he had sat in his driveway for a while, playing on his phone before he actually went into his house. If someone were preparing to commit a crime, [36:47] They could easily leave their cell phone someplace and then go about and do whatever they meant to do. Could that have been a possibility here? [36:54] No, because... [36:56] the phone was being interacted with. So they cleared the restaurant worker and zeroed in on what Jay told his good friend Khalid fears before he vanished. [37:06] He told [37:07] that he was going somewhere that he had previously been that night.

[37:12] And it was somebody that [37:14] He had previously blocked on social media. Since police still couldn't access Jay's social media accounts, a university officer fashioned a workaround. [37:24] He did a search warrant for Jay Lee's Apple iCloud account, and he was able to find passwords and user accounts for search media and stuff like that. The university granted access to Jay's college email account so investigators could get his Snapchat data. [37:42] There's a function in Snapchat that you can download your own data. Kind of a deep hidden thing, not a whole lot of people know about it, but [37:50] You can. And so we used... [37:51] his university email account that we now have control of. [37:55] and sent his personal data, Snapchat data, to that email. Finally, they were in. Well, kind of. [38:04] The Snapchat log only showed the messages Jay received and the username of the sender. [38:10] The last message chain began at 525 a.m. [38:14] That's the first time we see this name, RedEye24. And that's a screen name. That's a screen name. RedEye texted, come back. You coming or nah? [38:24] What was it about those exchanges with Red Eye 24 that caught your attention? [38:29] It appeared that he had met with them earlier. [38:33] Kind of seemed like Jay Lee was upset with this person. [38:37] based on the previous encounter that they had had. To detectives reading between the lines, it appeared Jay thought Red Eye wanted to break off contact with him.

[38:46] Red Eye responded, You trippin'. I do feel bad because we cool, so I ain't trying to end it like this. Then Red Eye seemed to give in to something Jay asked for, texting... [38:57] Okay, I'll do it. [38:59] The detectives wondered if that meant something sexual. Because we know a lot of things about Jay Lee, and we learned throughout the investigation Jay Lee would go meet other men and have sexual encounters. At around 6 a.m., detectives believe Jay, chatting on the phone with Khalid, was driving to meet Red Eye. [39:17] Then once he kind of got close to what Clint thought was appeared to be close, he kind of just ended the conversation and basically he had to go. That's when detectives believe Jay showed up at Red Eye's front door. We were confident that that was the last person that saw Jay Lee alive. You've got to figure out who this Red Eye underscore 24 is. And I make a phone call to a friend at the U.S. attorney's office and just say, how can you help us? The U.S. attorney filed a federal warrant and this time Snapchat delivered. [39:47] So that really was a turning point. It was huge. Now the detectives had Red Eye's email address and found it was the same email for a podcast called Dirt to Diamonds. [39:58] with another episode of Dirt to Diamonds podcast. Today I have a special guest. The host, a handsome 22-year-old man and fellow Ole Miss graduate. Tim Harrington. What do you learn about Tim Harrington? Highly thought of on the Ole Miss campus. I was a good student. [40:15] Jay's friend Braylon knew him well.

[40:24] how to stay out of trouble and [40:27] what to do if your grades are bad. I looked at Tim as a friend. - You have those people who kind of like, take you under their wing. Was Tim kind of like that? - Definitely. Tim was very outgoing and he was definitely the life of the party type of person. - Detectives learned Tim was from Grenada, a small town about an hour from Oxford. [40:49] Like Jay, Tim was a preacher's kid, his grandfather an influential bishop. [40:55] Tim was active in his community too, as a youth counselor and a guitarist in the church band. [41:02] He was also an entrepreneur. He started his own moving company while still in college. [41:08] He looked to be a young man that had a very bright future. [41:11] He was ambitious, whether that was going to be politically or in real estate. And he projected confidence in an interview with the Ole Miss TV station. My name is Tim Harrington. I'm from the lovely city of United, Mississippi. Here he was, laying out his career path. That's what I see myself doing, developing real estate. Even casting himself as an entrepreneur influencer of sorts. Don't worry about age or little things like that holding you back. Get started. You'll learn as you go. [41:41] He wanted greatness for himself and for his life. This hardly sounds like the type of person that you would look at and say, [41:48] you are responsible for killing somebody. Yeah, it did. You just follow the evidence. The detectives wanted to speak with Tim.

[41:57] Immediately, they headed to his apartment, not knowing who or what they might find. [42:17] Two weeks after Jay Lee walked out of his campus apartment for the last time, the detectives, with body cameras rolling, followed the trail of Snapchat messages to the door of another Ole Miss graduate, Tim Harrington. [42:35] Tim opens the door, we introduce ourselves, we kind of tell Tim, "Hey, this is why we're here, all right? Jaylee's been missing." Can we come in and talk to you? Just see if you can help us out? Yes, sir. And he, you know, opened his door and allowed us to come in and speak with him. Hmm. So he's cooperating? Oh, absolutely. Hey Tim, do you know Jaylee? Yes, sir. We were in Black School Union together. [42:56] How well do you know it? [42:57] Oh, we were cool. I wouldn't say we were like best friends, but we were like, you know, just, you know, acquaintance friends like that. He was saying, yeah, we weren't that close. We knew each other in passing. But it was obvious to us based on the Snapchat messages that they had more of a relationship than he led into. We didn't know the nature of it, but we knew that there's more of a relationship than I knew him from school and passing. Have you had any contact with him lately? [43:22] No, sir, I haven't heard anything from since... [43:25] Since he's been gone, I haven't heard anything. When was the last time you had any contact with him? Um...

[43:31] that night. It was the night, or rather the very early morning, that Jay Lee went missing. So you're actually... [43:40] The first one that's been able to say, you know what, I saw him that night. Yeah, I did see him. So like... Tim told the officers he was getting ready to move to Dallas, that he'd run into Jay while he was out looking to buy a drill. And Jay called him later. [43:53] And it was like, you know, [43:55] I got you a deal, blah, blah, blah. I was like, cool, you know, just stop by. I appreciate it. So he brought the gifts and that was about it. [44:05] Detectives then changed their line of questioning. [44:08] So I'm just, we're asking everybody, okay? Yeah. You don't have a sexual relationship of any kind? No, I'm not sure. And Tim dismisses it. Where does the conversation go from there? [44:18] The question that stood out to me the most [44:21] was what do you think happened to Jaylee? [44:28] I don't know. I don't know if he just went and had casual sex or somebody and got kidnapped like this. Tim goes on to say it's possible [44:38] He went and had casual sex with someone and they kidnapped him. [44:42] Out of the blue. Out of the blue. It feels oddly specific. It does. You know, Jay Lee's going to meet, talk to anybody after he left your apartment? Nah. All along in this conversation, you've got things on a simmer, let's say. At some point, you turn it up to a full boil. Oh, absolutely. We had to crank the heat up. It's him. It's him.

[45:08] So when you brought Tim down to headquarters, [45:10] You were doing it right here in this room. Yes. So you have the right to remain silent. Now it's starting to get real, and let's start trying to figure out how we can get him to say, I was lying to y'all. So is it possible, Tim, what you told us in the apartment was not as accurate as it was made out to be? No, sir, it wasn't as accurate. I think it was more in depth. I didn't think so, Tim. So tell me about this deeper relationship you and Jaylee have. It was just like a sexual thing. We didn't get them out of serious. [45:40] had sexual intercourse. I'm not sure. Probably like maybe two or three. Tim, [45:46] Changes the story. He admits yes, they did have a sexual relationship. That's a big admission. Absolutely. The night he came over. Yes, sir. Did you have sexual relations that night? Yes, sir. We did. He came over and then like, you know, he just gave me more like he usually does. And that was about it. Like he just like, we just talked and then he left. But you know, [46:11] But he went back a second time. Yes. Did Jay Lee come back? Yes, sir, he came back. And Tim says, yes, it was for a sexual encounter that I was supposed to give Jay Lee. Have you come back again? Like, we do the same thing. I make it up to him. You make it up to him? Yeah, I do. So this is in direct contrast to the story that he had just told you. No, it's in direct contrast to everything he's told us up to that point. That was the time he didn't like. He just liked it up again. That was it. Okay. How did he leave?

[46:41] He was cool, like he was just like, he thought like I wasn't gonna do it because I don't do it. So he left the apartment walking? Yeah. [46:50] Hmm. [46:51] And then what? Did you leave the apartment? [46:56] Yes, sir. Where'd you go? I went to Walmart. That was... [47:01] news we had no information about. So he's the one who introduced that to you? He introduced that. He went to Walmart. Okay. What did you do at Walmart? Nothing. I have a moving company. I had a move there on the day, so the tape for the boxes and stuff like that. The detectives wanted details. So you bought duct tape or tape in general, not duct tape. The clear tape you wrap around it? Yeah. Tim had a moving company, so he said it's what they wrap boxes in. Moving tape. Packaging tape. Moving tape, packaging tape. [47:31] The detectives pressed Tim for more information about what he did that morning. And that's when he asked if he needed a lawyer. You want to talk about everything today? I can get you a turn down here. [47:44] Okay, whatever, I don't talk about everything today. Well, keep investigating, but you're not leaving here today. That's fine. Tim had stopped cooperating, but the detectives felt they had their guy. [47:57] So at this point now, he's charged. He's under arrest. You've charged him with murder. Yes. So what happened next... [48:03] Came as a big shock. We were actually on the lawn of the courthouse just crying. The details were heavy. I was confused. I was disgusted.

[48:12] Thank you. [48:16] Hey guys, Willie Geist here, reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit-Down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with the biggest rock star of them all, Mick Jagger, to talk about The Stone's latest album and his favorite of the band's iconic records over all these years. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts. [48:47] News of Tim Harrington's arrest hit Jay's family and friends like one of Mississippi's merciless tornadoes. [48:55] before [48:57] You're holding out hope. [48:59] You're searching for him. Police are searching for him. Now there's an arrest and somebody charged with his murder. Yes, it was hard. I mean, the evidence was there to say. [49:11] Something happened, but worries about it, we didn't know. Freeland, you knew Tim Harrington. You were students together. I was very angry when I saw his mugshot. From that moment forward, I knew that Tim Harrington had something to do with it in some way. 22-year-old Harrington makes his way inside to appear. People were shocked to learn that, one, that they had a relationship, [49:41] of murder. Tim Harrington was in jail, and DA Ben Creekmore would make the case to keep him there. But without Jay's body, that could be tricky. Typically in a criminal case, you're going to have

[49:55] The body, you're going to know what form of violence was used. You're going to be able to call the medical examiner in to tell the jury the manner of death, cause of death. And you had none of that. I had none of that. So he needed to build a circumstantial case. By now, he had obtained Jay's side of his early morning Snapchat exchange with Red Eye 24, a.k.a. Tim Harrington. [50:25] Now it seemed like you're just trying to lure me over there to beat my ass or something. And he warned Tim against violence. Jay at some point says, you know, if you try something fast, it won't end up good for you, right? [50:36] What does that mean? [50:37] It's saying that... [50:38] Jay Lee is... [50:40] Kind of concerned or maybe a little fearful to come back over to Tim's apartment. But then Jay messaged, I'm coming. Even though Jay is suspicious, he still gets him to come over. Yes. Detectives believe Jay showed up at Tim's front door because he texted a single word, open. So he's saying open, basically open the door, I'm here. Yeah, I'm here, open the door. It was the final text Jay sent, the last evidence he was still alive. [51:10] which would turn up more clues. And investigators also found security camera footage that captured Tim's movements in the minutes and hours after Jay went to see him. Moments after Jay Lee enters the apartment,

[51:25] Tim is, you know, leaving the apartment, going to Walmart. He looks at where all the trash cans are. There's a trash can big enough to put a body in, is what he's looking at. At Walmart. That's right. But he ends up just buying a roll of duct tape. Duct tape, not clear packaging tape, as he told police. We had found a roll of duct tape when we searched his apartment and took it as evidence. After he left Walmart, a security camera captured Tim's company truck. [51:55] He goes and gets a box truck, and then he returns to his apartment. About three and a half hours later, he drove the box truck to his parents' home in Grenada, where another camera picked up something suspicious. From the neighbor's surveillance camera, we're able to see Tim Harrington put a wheelbarrow and shovels in the back of that box truck. [52:25] evade. Detectives had a theory. Tim's going to get rid of Jay Lee, disposing of his body. Yes. But it was just a theory. You have to prove that there's a murder. Afram Sellers is a Harrington family friend. He's also a criminal defense attorney. How are you going to convict this man of murder? [52:44] and you don't know [52:46] a manner or cause of death. [52:48] Or even that he's dead. Or even that he's dead. Police had searched Tim's apartment, his car, and the box truck, but didn't find any incriminating evidence.

[52:57] You know that Jaylee was at the apartment, but there's nothing that supports a violent act or a murder. It was just speculation. So you're saying even with the best set of circumstantial evidence... [53:07] without any sort of physical evidence... [53:09] It's just a theory. That's the argument. Yes. Another argument, he says, murder was totally out of character for this young man. For his family, it was impossible to imagine. How did his parents respond to this? This belief in that he's being charged, this belief that he could be involved in something like this. That's a natural part of their response. It's to be in shock, to be angry, to be fearful. And they were all of those things. They were all those things. But they were also very prayerful. [53:37] Anything you'd like to say, Mr. Harrington? Some of their prayers were answered. About a month after Tim was arrested, as Tim's lawyers prepared to argue for his release at a bond hearing... [53:47] His supporters came out in droves. These are people from church, from the community, people he knew growing up. [53:55] I think it was natural for them to give that support because, you know, [53:58] what he had put out in the community, he was getting back because the people are supporting someone that they [54:04] just couldn't imagine being involved or charged with murder. He had received over 70 letters from the Grenada Sheriff and other law enforcement officers in his church community, basically campaigning for him to get out before they had ever heard the evidence or knew what was going on based on Tim Harrington being a good boy. It was. [54:24] upset us. It [54:26] enraged us. We quickly organized to make sure that if Tim Harrington was being accused of doing something to Jay that he wouldn't get on. That movement, Justice for Jay, started on social media

[54:38] and quickly grew to much more. J. Lee matters! J. Lee matters! Justice for J. Lee! At this point, these are physical gatherings now. Rallies, retabling, community projects, drives… To raise awareness. To raise awareness. Justice for J. Lee! Justice for J. Lee! Justice for J. Lee! The bond hearing got underway. [55:02] We weren't in the courtroom. We were actually on the lawn of the courthouse just crying as we were getting the information from Twitter. As they were releasing evidence in the courtroom and a new tweet would drop, we would read it and then take a moment to just cry. So this is the first time that you are learning the details. [55:22] of what prosecutors were saying happened. Yes. The details were heavy. [55:26] I was confused. I was disgusted. The judge initially denied Tim's motion for release, but about four months later, after his lawyers filed a civil suit, the prosecution agreed to release him. Harrington was released from jail yesterday, just before three o'clock. And the judge let him out with an ankle monitor on a $250,000 bond. [55:47] I was like, why did they let him go when they know that they got these things on him? It didn't seem fair or right. It was crazy. And everyone's taking pictures of him. So you're seeing him around town. He was just walking free. Walking free. All the while, Jay's father remained stoic. It bothered me a little to see him walk, but I knew it was a part of the process. And you had faith in the process. Yes.

[56:09] The investigation wasn't over and Jay's father Jimmy had faith in Chief McCutcheon. He was an armed man. Did you trust that he was doing everything that he could to fund your son? Absolutely. He's a pastor, a man of faith, as are you. [56:26] Would you all... [56:27] Pray together. [56:28] call on that faith together? Oh, we did. He and I got so close that I could just be honest and say, [56:33] Hey, I'm frustrated. I'm worried about this. And he would say, hey, we're... [56:36] Let's just pray. It felt like friends that came together that were on one mission together. Nine months after Jay Lee went missing, that mission entered a new phase. A grand jury indicted Tim Harrington on upgraded charges of capital murder and kidnapping. [56:53] But as the case headed to trial, Jay's family and friends wondered if the evidence would be strong enough to convict. Is it almost like you're walking in with one hand tied behind your back? You're having to convince these people that someone is dead without even a body. That's a huge reasonable doubt right there. [57:25] - In December of 2024, two and a half years after Jay Lee disappeared, Tim Harrington went on trial for his murder. Jay's father, Jimmy, was ready for it, but he was nervous. - Were you worried going in?

[57:40] I think I was a little... [57:42] I even remember praying one night. [57:44] for the Lord to give me strength. [57:46] if it [57:47] Didn't come if he were to walk. My name is Gwen Ago. Gwen Ago, D.A. Ben Creekmore's co-counsel, let off the prosecution's case. [57:57] Did you have a concern that... [57:59] where we are in Mississippi in the south. [58:01] that it could make a jury less sympathetic to Jay. [58:05] 100% because of people's just sort of ignorance and lack of understanding that [58:11] Jay's just like you or me, that he was just a college kid whose parents supported him like anyone else's kid and their parents did. [58:18] So Coop was Jack. He was vibrant. [58:25] walked to his own feet. If he wanted to wear heels up there, he was going to wear heels. [58:30] But he was more than just that. [58:32] You're going to hear he's family-oriented. He loved his mother more than he makes hope for you. [58:40] And that's why Ago called Jay's mother, Stephanie, to the stand. [58:44] What did you want the jurors to take away from your words? [58:48] I wanted them to see that I was a mother. [58:51] That was for sure [58:53] that something had happened with my child. [58:56] and that he was no longer here with us. [59:00] Stephanie told the jury she knew something was wrong when she didn't get that birthday phone call. [59:06] Jay would call me every year on my birthday to sing "Happy Birthday," no matter what time it was. She also told the jury she had access to his credit card and bank accounts.

[59:17] And all activity stopped on July 8, 2022. [59:23] What gave you strength? [59:25] and the support of my family. [59:28] Looking out at my children and my husband. [59:32] knowing that they were there. [59:34] And who was it a picture of? I apologize. My son, Jaylee. That's his first day in his first job when he first graduated high school. How hard was it broken? [59:44] I've always said that [59:46] I admire her strength to do it. [59:49] This grant that God gave her to just get up there and do that, I saw as a hero. [59:54] I knew I had to do this with Jay. [59:57] I had to be a voice for him. [59:59] Thank you. [1:00:00] Next, the prosecution had to prove that Tim Harrington murdered Jay to protect his own reputation. Jay's friend Khalid Fiers told the jury how he warned Jay not to hook up with a guy who was on the down low. [1:00:14] I said they will kill you before their dirty little secret gets exposed. [1:00:17] And that, prosecutor said, was precisely why Tim killed Jay. [1:00:23] Detective Ryan Baker told the jury about another message Jay sent Tim right after he left Tim's apartment in a huff. It was 4.36 a.m. and Jay Lee sent it to Timothy Harrington. He says, I just wanted to be able to say I had you be DL. [1:00:42] Again, fun to have been the first guy. Experiment over. [1:00:47] The prosecution argued Tim took that message as a threat, that Jay was going to out him.

[1:00:52] Chief McCudgeon said the motive came down to one word. [1:00:56] I wanted to say, say the key word, because that is a [1:01:03] Someone's going to hear that. To me, that was the trigger. That was that hinge moment of that's the out. [1:01:09] The prosecution argued Tim lured Jay back with a promise of sex and then murdered him. To show Tim's true intention, the prosecutor asked Detective Baker about a Google search he found on Tim's phone. One the detective told us was a critical piece of evidence. [1:01:26] And this is what I found. [1:01:28] How long does it take to strangle someone? [1:01:32] This is something that he searched? Yes, five minutes before Jay Lee got there. How crucial was that? Extremely crucial. It helped us come up with intent to kill. And if that wasn't incriminating enough, the prosecution had an ace in the hole. [1:01:46] Prosecutors showed jurors that video of the jogger running away from the Molly Bar Trails apartment complex where Jay's car was found and later getting into a white car at a gas station. And then they heard from this man. My name is Keziah Carter. Keziah Carter told the jury he was driving the white car that morning and he picked up the jogger because he knew him. It was Tim Harrington. I seen him and I blew the horn speaking. [1:02:14] And he weighed me down. So I turned back around, looked around, got into the gas station. He asked me for a ride to take him back home to Lafayette, a place to be a good job.

[1:02:46] I got you and you blah, blah, blah. I was like, cool. We just chilled. [1:02:51] So I didn't go back to his apartment that was in. [1:02:54] Do you have a sexual relationship of any kind? No, I'm not sure. DA Ben Creekmore said that was the key to their case. [1:03:02] even though we didn't have a confession. [1:03:04] Sometimes I'd... [1:03:06] much prefer [1:03:08] lies in an interview over a confession. [1:03:38] body? Where was the proof of first-degree murder? Proof of any death whatsoever. Zero. DNA happening. [1:04:01] The prosecution had presented a mountain of circumstantial evidence against Tim Harrington. Now, defense attorney Kevin Horan was about to tell the jury what evidence prosecutors did not have. 22,000 documents we had provided in discovery, seven law enforcement agencies, 71 search warrants,

[1:04:24] They haven't recovered not one bit of direct evidence [1:04:31] Holren launched his attack on the prosecution's case, telling the jury there was no evidence in Tim's apartment that he murdered Jay. He grilled Lieutenant Shane Fortner. I ask you if you find any fiber or any trace evidence of any of those items ever having been in his apartment or left in his apartment. No fibers of any kind. No blood? No blood. [1:05:00] No DNA. [1:05:02] No DNA. Horan made sure the jury knew investigators hadn't found anything in that moving truck. [1:05:09] or on the wheelbarrow and shovel. [1:05:11] You've got a report of zero evidence showing that Mr. Lee's body was in that box truck, right? Mr. Lee went missing on July the 8th. [1:05:27] We did not get the box truck until July 26th, I believe. [1:05:32] But you didn't find any evidence. [1:05:35] You also investigated whether or not the cleaning agents could scrub it down. It appeared visually that any of those things had occurred to the box truck, right? Not that I'm aware of. No, sir. But there was one piece of evidence that was difficult to explain away. The Google search on Tim's phone.

[1:05:55] At 5.57 a.m., [1:05:58] Mr. Harrington. [1:06:01] searches in Google. Does a Google search [1:06:04] How long does it take to strangle someone? [1:06:07] Horan asked Jay's friend Khalid fears about that, suggesting Tim was interested in choking because Jay was, as a sexual thrill. [1:06:17] We pointed out that y'all had conversations about choking and things of that nature in that conversation. That's not sexual preference, though. [1:06:26] Sexual preference, sexual conduct, sexual conversations about certain things. Okay. [1:06:32] Horan had Khalid read from one of their text exchanges. He says, ooh, you like to choke and to be choked? And your response was? Heavy on it. [1:06:43] I felt strip naked that I was... [1:06:45] sharing my private [1:06:48] intimate conversations with my friend, with everybody. In fact, between the evidence and the testimony, the trial was full of sex talk. A bit of a shock for the religious crowd. [1:07:00] So a lot of the stuff, I was just like, hmmm. [1:07:03] Lord, have mercy. [1:07:06] Horne implied that Google search could have just been Tim researching a sex act he thought Jay wanted to try. [1:07:12] Maybe, but what about that message Jay sent Tim that the prosecution said Tim perceived to be a threat? Horan cross-examined the Oxford police chief about that. Do you see anything in there that Jay Lee had threatened my client that he was going to quote-unquote out him at all?

[1:07:38] At 436, Jay Lee states, I just wanted to say, say, which is outing, that I had you on the DL again, which is the download. Fun to have been your first guy experience. Jay Lee says, I wanted to say, he wanted to out him. [1:07:55] But Horan told the jury Tim didn't worry about being outed. Even his deeply religious minister father said it would have been okay with him. [1:08:05] As far as Timmy, I assume you treated him like a son or a child like you did all your other children. Sure. You accepted him still as your son if he told him that he was bisexual? If he told him he was bisexual? You still accepted him and loved him like you did your other children? Sure. [1:08:27] So was Tim really so afraid of being outed that he murdered Jay? According to the defense, that was a stretch. And once again, Horan said, police still had no proof that Jay was even dead. A painful reminder for the chief. [1:08:47] We've been looking for Jay Lee's body for two years, and we're not going to stop until we find him. And I can guarantee you that. [1:08:57] But they had not found him, and therefore, Horan told the jury, the prosecution had not proven its case.

[1:09:23] The case was headed to the jury, and the court was in for a surprise. How did you find out what had happened? [1:09:32] I'm sorry. It's okay. Holy cow. [1:09:50] It seemed so simple to the people who loved Jay Lee. He was clearly dead, and Tim Harrington most certainly killed him. So as the case went to the jury, Jay's sister was counting on a quick verdict. [1:10:05] and they go back and they're deliberating. How are you feeling? I was feeling very confident. [1:10:10] When I tell you my confidence was up the roof, I felt like I was jaded that day. But the jury had to weigh all the evidence, and the defense had argued there was no blood, no DNA or fibers, not even a body that linked Harrington to murder. After four hours, the jury sent a note to the judge. We have a note from the jury that says we feel confident we are unable to reach a unanimous decision. They were deadlocked. He encouraged them to dig a little deeper. [1:10:40] I was like, okay, what in the... [1:10:43] world is going on like why are y'all taking so long to just come to an agreement when it's there it's clear the prosecution and defense knew it could go either way so as the jury deliberated they were discussing a plea deal

[1:10:59] The number one thing [1:11:01] that [1:11:02] any plea offer, [1:11:04] is going to require... [1:11:06] Tell us what you did with Jaylee. We wanted Mr. Jimmy, we wanted Miss Stephanie to be able to bury their son. They deserve that. But Harrington turned the deal down and the jurors kept talking, to no avail. All right, ladies and gentlemen, Jerry, I have received another note that says, uh, we are unable to reach an agreement. I'm going to declare a mistrial. After a total of nine and a half hours of deliberations, a mistrial. [1:11:35] Just sick. [1:11:36] you know just sick [1:11:39] for the family, [1:11:40] for your team, [1:11:41] for justice. One of the things that bothered me worse than anything was to watch [1:11:48] Tim to get up and arrogantly tell his folks, come on, let's go. [1:11:53] the arrogance of it, you know. But I had to go through a lot of praying behind that. But it took a lot of prayer for you to stay calm. Yes. For you to not let that anger take over. Yes, it did. Yes, it did. In that moment, Chief McCutcheon wanted to be there for the man he now called his friend. He took Jimmy's hand. He said, no, it ain't over. So that, you know, that was the encouragement I really needed at that time. [1:12:23] I'll never forget. We all left the courthouse. We go back to the district attorney's office, and it was...

[1:12:29] You know what? [1:12:31] Tomorrow's a new day. [1:12:33] Let's get back after it. [1:12:35] And let's go find Jay. [1:12:37] And let's bring this thing home for the Lee family. And then, seven weeks later, as prosecutors were preparing for a second trial, unbelievably, it happened. Right here in this patch of forgotten woods, about 20 miles from the home of Tim Harrington's parents. Jay Lee had been gone for about two and a half years when, on a cold February day, the property's owner happened upon what appeared to be remains. Human remains. [1:13:07] He called 911. I'll walk down the hill and make sure to watch where I'll walk to make sure I did stuff on any evidence. [1:13:15] Carroll County Sheriff's investigators Jerry Bankston and Tucker Banks were among the first on the scene. [1:13:21] I see what appears to be a human skull. [1:13:24] laying on the ground right over here. There were a few other bones. I believe there was a pelvis bone and an arm bone or another bone. [1:13:32] Leg bone length in close proximity to this tree also. Some of the remains were found wrapped in a blanket. It was laying here beside this stump. It had duct tape on the outside of it. I'm just picking up dirt basically like this. [1:13:49] And I'm just shifting it through my hands. [1:13:51] and a flashlight catches a glimpse of something shiny, and I was able to see at that point that it was a piece of jewelry. It was a gold necklace, and when Chief McCutcheon got the photo on his phone, he knew.

[1:14:06] As you're racing down to get here, what are you thinking? [1:14:11] A lot. Is it real, you know, excitement that [1:14:15] of all the sadness that everyone had been through, that there was this real possibility that we were going to get to make that phone call that we had promised that we were going to get to make. Talk to me about [1:14:25] The moment when you called Jay's father? Oh, man. Yeah. So it was such a cool moment. I called him and I could tell he was in his truck. You just hear the wind noise. And I said, hey, are you by yourself? And he said, no, Stephanie's with me. He said, can you pull over? Like, OK, when he said pull over, I was like, OK, something's going on. [1:14:49] So we pulled over and he said, we found Jay. [1:14:52] What was it like to hear that? Well, it was like the dream. I mean, I've always dreamed of. Take me to February 2025. [1:15:00] How did you find out what had happened? I'm sorry. It's okay. [1:15:06] I didn't have an expectant. That just came up. [1:15:10] Just thinking about that day. Holy cow. [1:15:15] I can see it just impacts you still. I was very, very relieved. Yeah. And... [1:15:23] um, [1:15:24] In my mind. [1:15:27] I always felt [1:15:29] that something was missing, even if we got a conviction. [1:15:34] because we would never know

[1:15:56] You have to believe he pulled up in the box truck, pops the top, and then just pitches him off into the woods. But could they prove it? They found a body that was, well, not a body. They found a skeleton. It got us the direct evidence that he was dead. Now, was he killed? That question still remained. [1:16:24] Jay Lee was finally home and it was time to say goodbye. [1:16:40] Two weeks after Jay's remains were found, [1:16:43] Hundreds of people came to his funeral to bid him a tearful farewell. [1:16:50] What stands out to you the most about that funeral? The gold casket? Hmm. [1:16:56] I know Jay would have been like... [1:17:01] overextended like oh y'all got go [1:17:08] It was a sense of closure. It was a sense of, okay, he came home. Jay came home. [1:17:21] But prosecutors still had work to do.

[1:17:26] that you found Jay Lee in. [1:17:29] His body was decomposed [1:17:31] There was no DNA evidence to take from it. The hyoid bone, [1:17:37] which [1:17:38] typically indicates strangulation if it's broken, that was still intact. [1:17:42] There were some things there that the defense could certainly poke holes in. Mm-hmm. [1:17:48] Finding the body, did that yield as much [1:17:51] evidence as you expected it would? Yeah, um... [1:17:54] I'll tell you about that. [1:17:57] Didn't really know. But when the crime lab reported back, investigators realized they did have something, and it was big. The prosecution knew it, and so did the defense. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. [1:18:11] And it was the tape that was found on that body. [1:18:13] The duct tape. The duct tape, yes. And I walk out of here. Defense attorney Afram Sellers had taken over Tim Harrington's case. This is objectively a very damning piece of evidence for your client. Very much so. [1:18:26] Bye. [1:18:27] Now why would that be? [1:18:29] Remember, investigators had found a roll of duct tape in Tim Harrington's apartment. [1:18:34] They sent that tape and the duct tape from the body site to the FBI. [1:18:41] I'm going to say perfectly match. [1:18:44] the tear pattern [1:18:46] from that roll of duct tape out of Tim's apartment to an end, [1:18:51] that was wrapped around Jaylee's body. [1:18:53] Match like puzzle pieces. Like a puzzle piece. Wow. Given this new evidence, the defense attorney decided it was time to talk to Tim Harrington and his family. I just walked it piece by piece from a standpoint of this is what they're about to try. So you're giving him a reality check. Reality check.

[1:19:12] Suddenly, Tim Harrington was very interested in a plea deal. At this point... [1:19:17] You all found Jay. [1:19:19] And now he's asking for a plea deal [1:19:21] Were you thinking... [1:19:23] They're a little too late. I was thinking in that sense, but... [1:19:26] More importantly, my thought was, [1:19:29] averted her from going through that. [1:19:32] to spare stephanie the pain of testifying at yet another trial the family was leaning toward a deal but prosecutors needed some convincing more than anything they wanted tim harrington to admit to what he did i needed to know that he had to be a part of the case of the case of the case of the [1:19:52] was going to [1:19:53] say that he... [1:19:55] killed Jay Lee. [1:19:58] that this wasn't an accident. Gwen Ago met with Harrington and his attorney, and that's when Harrington confessed to everything. [1:20:06] He told me... [1:20:07] through [1:20:08] a lot of tears that he had strangled him. [1:20:11] Did he seem genuinely remorseful? To me, he did. And it wasn't just... [1:20:16] you know, slow cry. It was a lot of tears and it was physical, you could see the physical reactions in his body. Did he give you details? What did he tell you? He confirmed that text message was a trigger for him. The down-low message? The down-low message, yeah. [1:20:31] Harrington told Ago that he'd intended to bury Jay, but when he looked into his dead face, he panicked and dumped him. [1:20:38] He said that he couldn't call the police because he just knew that he had killed somebody. And he just knew it was his fault.

[1:20:45] So on December 1st, 2025, just as jurors were being selected for trial number two, [1:20:52] Tim Harrington pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and tampering with a body. [1:20:58] At the sentencing hearing, Jay's father had a message for his son's killer. [1:21:03] I hadn't said much in this entire trial. [1:21:07] But with my broken heart, [1:21:12] I'm standing God's love to you. [1:21:15] I want to remind you [1:21:19] of God's redemptive plan. [1:21:21] The judge sentenced Harrington to 40 years in prison. [1:21:27] he will be eligible for parole at the age of 58. [1:21:30] That's still enough time to get out of prison [1:21:34] and live a whole second life. [1:21:36] Yeah it is [1:21:37] Are you okay with that possibility? [1:21:40] I am. We can't talk about God's grace and not... [1:21:44] be completely understanding of how it works. It's always been about the family. I mean, if they felt like it was justice, then it was justice for me. And once the Lees felt that that was justice, it gave me some relief and reprieve to know that they have that closure that they've been lacking for so long. And through closure, action. [1:22:08] I'm asking for a bipartisan bill. Jay's family is now pushing for a federal law that would require tech companies to share user data with police and parents when someone under 21 goes missing.

[1:22:21] The Jay Lee Information Act. I'm hoping that this bill will allow law enforcement to reach out to [1:22:30] any social media communication giant, making it possible that [1:22:37] they can get some leads much faster. [1:22:42] Jay's family is determined to keep his story and his spirit alive. And that's what Tayla did as she led the Oxford Pride Parade, holding Jay's almost life-sized picture. [1:22:54] for victims who are members of the LGBTQIA community. [1:22:57] What do you hope this means for them? [1:22:59] I hope this means that there is some type of hope out there. [1:23:03] Keep fighting. [1:23:04] because justice is right around the corner. [1:23:07] In an extraordinary statement at Tim Harrington's sentencing... [1:23:10] The judge had something to say about that. [1:23:13] The state of Mississippi does not have a good reputation in matters concerning this, quite frankly. I may say more than I should say, but when I heard that we'd been getting national publicity over Mr. Lee's death and the fact that he lived a lifestyle that was different from most people in Mississippi, [1:23:43] this country thought. [1:23:45] that there will not be justice in this case. [1:23:50] I want the world to know that Mississippi got it right this time.

[1:23:56] Mississippi did get it right this time. [1:23:59] Because they didn't give up on Jay. They didn't stop fighting for Jay. [1:24:05] And that's a beautiful moment. [1:24:08] That they did not give up. [1:24:12] That's all for this edition of Dateline. And don't forget to check out our Talking Dateline podcast, in which we'll go behind the scenes of tonight's episode. Available Wednesday in the Dateline feed, wherever you get your podcasts. We're off for the next three weeks as NBC brings you coverage of the Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Cortina. So we'll see you back here February 27th at 9, 8 Central Time. I'm Lester Holt. For all of us at NBC News, good night. [1:24:42] I'm Craig Melvin. Cheers. [1:24:49] I've always been a glass half full kind of guy. And now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way, too. Some really fascinating folks who share their defining moments, their triumphs, their challenges. Their stories are funny and quite candid. So I hope you'll join me each week. And who knows? You might just come away with your own glass half full. [1:25:12] on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.