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CRIMINAL LAW: Murder

The murder of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright is one of the most high-profile, agonizing, and twisted true-crime stories in sports history. A hometown hero in Memphis, Tennessee, Wright's 2010 disappearance exploded into a complex 12-year investigation that ultimately uncovered a deadly conspiracy masterminded by his ex-wife.

The Disappearance and Chilling 911 Call
Lorenzen Wright was a 6-foot-11-inch center who played 13 seasons in the NBA (including stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Atlanta Hawks). On July 18, 2010, the 34-year-old father of six left his ex-wife’s home in Memphis and completely vanished.

Early the next morning, on July 19, a Germantown police dispatcher received a 911 call from Wright’s cell phone. The call captured a brief, terrifying scene: Wright shouting an expletive, followed immediately by the rapid pop-pop-pop of 11 gunshots before the line went dead.

Because of jurisdictional confusion and communication gaps, the call wasn't immediately mapped or forwarded to Memphis police. It took ten days for authorities to find Wright’s body. On July 28, 2010, his heavily decomposed, bullet-riddled remains were discovered abandoned in a swampy, remote field in southeast Memphis.

A Case Gone Cold
For seven years, the investigation stalled. Rumors flew, but no arrests were made. Meanwhile, Wright's ex-wife, Sherra Wright-Robinson, collected a $1 million life insurance payout intended to benefit their six children. Within a year, she had reportedly blown through nearly the entire sum on luxury vehicles, expensive homes, and vacations—causing a massive civil dispute with Wright's mother, Deborah Marion.

The major breakthrough came in November 2017. Acting on a tip, FBI dive teams searched a remote lake in Walnut, Mississippi, and successfully recovered the murder weapon.

The Conspiracy Unravels
Within weeks of finding the gun, police arrested two individuals: Sherra Wright-Robinson and a local landscaper named Billy Ray Turner.
The state's star witness was Jimmie Martin—Sherra’s cousin and a convicted killer facing separate charges. Granted immunity in the Wright case for his testimony, Martin laid out a chilling sequence of events:

The Mastermind: Sherra was the orchestrator, motivated by financial greed and deep personal animosity. She recruited both her cousin (Martin) and her secret romantic partner/fellow church member (Turner) to execute the hit.
The First Attempt: The trio originally planned to kill Wright at his condominium in Atlanta. Turner and Martin broke in through a window, but found someone else sleeping on the couch and aborted the mission.
The Lure and Ambush:
On July 18, Sherra lured Lorenzen to the Memphis field under the guise of meeting someone to secure money. Instead, she and Turner ambushed him. Wright managed to jump a fence and flee into the field before being shot multiple times.

The Cover-Up: Turner and Martin later returned to clean up the crime scene, and Turner dumped the handguns into the Mississippi lake.

The Verdicts
Rather than face a first-degree murder trial, Sherra Wright took a surprise plea deal. Billy Ray Turner maintained his innocence but was ultimately convicted by a jury.

Sherra Wright-Robinson: on July 2019, Pleaded guilty to Facilitation of First-Degree Murder and was sento 30 years in prison (eligible for parole after serving 30%).

Billy Ray Turner: on March 2022 was Convicted of First-Degree Murder, Conspiracy, and Attempted Murder. He was sentenced to Life in prison, plus an additional 41 years on weapons and conspiracy counts.

The convictions brought a bitter closure to the Memphis community and to Wright's mother, Deborah Marion, who fought fiercely for over a decade to keep her son's case in the public eye.

via Netlaw TV