Lorenzen Wright

Background

Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright, commonly known as Lorenzen Wright, was an American professional basketball player whose name made several headlines in Memphis, not only for his achievements as a basketball star but also for his mysterious disappearance and subsequent murder, which resulted from a conspiracy between his wife, Sherra Wright, and her friend, Billy Ray Turner, a landscaper and church deacon, and her cousin, Jimmie Martin.

Wright was born in Oxford, Mississippi. While in Lafayette High School, he played basketball for the school’s team before moving to Memphis. He and his ex-wife had six children, including Lawson, Sofia, the twins — Shamar and Lamar — Lorenzen Wright Jr, and Sierra, who died in infancy. Wright began his real professional career in 1996 when he was drafted seventh overall in the N.B.A. draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. After playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, he went on to play for the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and his final club Cleveland Cavaliers, where his career was brought to a stop by his unfortunate disappearance. He was announced missing on July 18, 2010, and found dead in an abandoned field 10 days later. His murder case went on for seven years, commanding the public’s consistent attention. In 2011, a $21,000 reward was instituted for any information that would lead to the murderer(s).

In December 2017, Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra, and Turner, her friend, were arrested and charged with murder after the gun used in shooting him was found. In 2019, Sherra pleaded guilty to facilitating the first-degree murder of her late husband and received a 30-year sentence. Additionally, in 2022, Turner, who carried out the murder, was charged with three different categories of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, bringing the ‘Lorenzen Wright Murder Case’ to an end.