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Man found guilty of murdering former NBA Star – Lorenzen Wright

Wright, a 34-year-old father of six, was found dead in a field on July 28, 2010 – he’d been shot 11 times in the head, torso, and right forearm.

Wright, who played in the NBA for 13 seasons, was out of the league and living in Atlanta at the time of his death, but was in Memphis on a visit.

On the night of July 19, 2010, he went missing and called 911, during which nine gunshots could be heard.

Turner was apprehended in late 2017 after police stated that they had located the murder weapon in a Mississippi lake about 50 miles from where Wright’s body was discovered.

A month later, Turner was charged.

Turner had already pled guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon after being discovered with two guns when he was arrested in Wright’s death in 2017. Turner is currently serving a 16-year jail sentence on a separate firearms crime.

Prosecutors claim Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra Wright, plotted the murder of her ex-husband and enlisted Turner and her cousin, Jimmie Martin, to assist her.

Turner and Sherra Wright were charged in December 2017, nearly seven years after the murder. Sherra Wright pleaded guilty to murder facilitation in July 2019 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Turner is a landscaper who knew Sherra Wright from church and had a covert love involvement with her, according to prosecutors.

Martin stated that Sherra Wright hired him and Turner to assassinate Lorenzen Wright. Parts of his testimony were called into question by defence counsel John Keith Perry, who said that the information Martin provided to investigators was a farce and full of lies.

Martin said that he and Turner met with Sherra Wright to plan the killing and then proceeded to Lorenzen Wright’s Atlanta condo to shoot him, with the idea that he would be compensated.

Billy Ray Turner, 51, was then clearly found guilty in a Shelby County court on Monday (21st March, 2022) of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy.

The verdict was apparently delivered after around two hours of deliberation by a jury of twelve. Turner was then sentenced to life in prison by Judge Lee Coffee for the murder conviction.

According to WREG, the remaining counts will be sentenced within 45 days. Turner might be released after 51 years, or 85 percent of his sentence, because Tennessee deems a life sentence to be 60 years.

Marion (mother of Lorenzen Wright) expressed her delight at the judgment outside the courthouse. She stated that she will pay a visit to her son’s cemetery on Monday evening. Marion stated, “I’ll never have closure since I’ll never see my son again”. “It’s just a sense of accomplishment for myself and my family.”