A Lafayette County judge declared Jimmie "Jay" Lee, a missing Ole Miss student, legally dead more than two years after Lee's disappearance.

The University of Mississippi student, Jimmie “Jay” Lee, has officially been presumed dead by the court after a petition was filed for a declaration of death. The document lists Jimmie Dale Lee III as a person who underwent a catastrophic event two years ago that exposed him to imminent danger which is

A Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge has officially declared a missing Ole Miss student as dead as the case continues against his accused killer. In an order dated Oct. 15, 2024, the judge said, “the proof is evident and the presumption is great” that Jimmie 'Jay' Lee is dead.

OXFORD, Miss. (WTVA) — A Lafayette County circuit court judge declared a missing Ole Miss student dead. The parents of Jimmie “Jay” Lee filed a request with the court in September, and court documents show the judge granted their request. Lee disappeared in July 2022 in Oxford. He’s had no communication with his parents since then.

A Lafayette County Circuit Court judge ruled Lee “has undergone a catastrophic event that exposed him to imminent peril or danger reasonably expected to result in the loss of life,” and that “it is uncontradicted that Mr. Lee’s absence since the event cannot be satisfactorily explained after diligent search and inquiry.”