Tennessee man, 51, is sentenced to life in prison for shooting dead NBA star Lorenzen Wright in 2010 – Daily Mail
A Tennessee man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing NBA star Lorenzen Wright in 2010 after hatching a plot with the player’s ex-wife – and his secret lover – to cash in on his $1 million life insurance policy.
Billy Ray Turner, 51, gunned Wright down in 2010 and the athlete’s bullet-riddled body was found in a swampy field in his hometown of Memphis days after he’d been reported missing.
On Monday, a 12-person jury deliberated for about two hours before it found Turner guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in the death of Wright, a 6-foot-11 center who played 13 seasons in the NBA before he retired after the 2008-2009 season.
Judge Lee Coffee sentenced Turner to life in prison for the murder conviction. He will be sentenced for the other charges at a later date. He is already serving a 16-year sentence for a separate gun charge.
Prosecutors allege Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra Wright, masterminded a plan to kill her ex-husband and recruited Turner and her cousin, Jimmie Martin, to help her.
Turner and Sherra Wright were indicted in December 2017, more than seven years after the killing in Lorenzen’s hometown of Memphis. Sherra Wright entered a surprise guilty plea to facilitation of murder in July 2019 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Turner is a landscaper who knew Sherra Wright from church and, according to prosecutors, had a secret romantic relationship with her.
Billy Ray Turner (right in 2018), an incarcerated Tennessee man, was convicted in the 2010 slaying of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright and subsequently sentenced to life in prison
On Monday, a 12-person jury deliberated for about two hours before it found Turner guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in the death of Wright (left), a 6-foot, 11-inch center who played 13 seasons in the NBA before he retired after the 2008-2009 season. Prosecutors allege Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra Wright (right), masterminded a plan to kill her ex-husband and recruited Turner and her cousin, Jimmie Martin, to help her
Deborah Marion, mother of former NBA basketball player Lorenzen Wright, speaks with reporters, Monday, March 21, 2022, in Memphis
Coffee called Wright ‘a sacred son’ of Memphis and told his mother, Deborah Marion, that the trial might not bring her closure but to ‘celebrate the good’ about her son.
Outside the courtroom, Marion told reporters she was elated with the verdict. She said she would visit her son’s grave Monday night.
‘It’ll never be closure, because I’ll never see my son again,’ Marion said. ‘This is just some satisfaction for me and my family.’
The slaying is one of the most highly publicized murder cases in Memphis history. Wright’s decomposing body was found riddled with bullet wounds in a swampy field in east Memphis on July 28, 2010. The 34-year-old father of six had been missing for days before his body was discovered.
Turner had already pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon as a convicted felon after he was found with two guns when he was arrested in Wright’s killing in 2017.
At the time of Wright’s slaying, Martin was facing charges of killing his girlfriend, and he said his cousin helped pay part of his legal fees. Martin was convicted and is currently serving prison time in that case. He has received immunity from prosecution in the Wright case.
Sherra Wright, ex-wife of Lorenzen Wright, cries during a memorial service honoring the life of Lorenzen Wright on August 4, 2010 at FedExForum in Memphis
Sherra Wright (left), Lorenzen Wright of the Memphis Grizzlies, teammate Dahntay Jonesand Joann Jones (Dahntay’s mother) read holiday books to kids during a Grizzlies Read to Achive event at Borders Bookstore on December 17, 2003 in Memphis
Martin testified that Sherra Wright recruited him and Turner to kill Lorenzen Wright. Parts of his testimony were challenged by defense attorney John Keith Perry, who said the information Martin gave to investigators was a farce and full of lies.
According to Martin, he and Turner met with Sherra Wright to plan the killing and went to Lorenzen Wright’s condominium in Atlanta to shoot him, with an understanding that he would get paid.
Lorenzen Wright played for 13 seasons as a forward and center in the NBA, including several for the Grizzlies in Memphis, where he was born and raised. In this 1997 shot, he’s seen playing for the Los Angeles Clippers against Karl Malone (left) and the Utah Jazz
Armed with handguns, Turner and Martin went to Wright’s condo in Atlanta, entered through a window and found someone sleeping on the couch in the living room – but it was not Lorenzen Wright, Martin testified. Turner and Martin returned home without killing anyone.
Martin told prosecutor Paul Hagerman that he was in Batesville, Mississippi, at the time of the shooting just after midnight on July 19, 2010. Martin said he went to the Memphis field with Sherra Wright some days after the shooting and she essentially confessed.
Lorenzen Wright was visiting Memphis from Atlanta, where he had once played for the NBA’s Hawks.
Sherra Wright said she lured her ex-husband to the field by telling him that she was going to meet someone there to get some money, Martin testified. According to Martin, she said that she and Turner ambushed and chased Lorenzen Wright, who jumped a fence and tried to run away before they shot him in the field.
The jury heard a chilling 911 call made by Lorenzen Wright that captured the pop-pop-pop sound of multiple gunshots.
Martin also said Turner and Wright got rid of evidence from the shooting scene and he went with Turner to dispose of the weapon by dumping it in a north Mississippi lake. Martin said he told detectives in 2012 where the gun was located. It was later found by FBI divers.
In closing arguments, defense attorney John Keith Perry said Martin’s ‘crazy, contrived’ story was not believable. Perry said Martin – not Turner – was in Memphis the night Lorenzen Wright was shot.
Sherra Wright, ex-wife of Lorenzen Wright and Herbert Wright Sr., father of Lorenzen Wright sit during a memorial service honoring the life of Lorenzen Wright on August 4, 2010 at FedExForum in Memphis
Prosecutor Paul Hagerman defended Martin’s testimony, saying Martin’s immunity agreement required him to tell the truth and statements given to investigators and prosecutors have been consistent.
Prosecutor Austin Scofield said Sherra Wright told Turner during a meeting at her house that Lorenzen Wright had a hit out on her.
Citing witness testimony, Scofield said Turner responded: ‘What do you want me to do, Sherra?’
Neither Turner nor Sherra Wright testified during the trial.
A motive for the slaying was not clear, though Hagerman said the killers were driven by jealousy and greed.
Sherra Wright received $1 million from her ex-husband’s life insurance policy and settled a court dispute in 2014 over how she spent the insurance money meant to benefit their six children.
Marion, the slain player’s mother, said she’s convinced the insurance policy was Sherra Wright’s motivation.
‘That’s what it was about. Money,’ Marion said.
Deborah Marion, left, mother of slain Grizzlies player Lorenzen Wright, is comforted during a hearing in Judge Lee Coffee’s court in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, July 25, 2019 where Sherra Wright plead guilty to the first degree murder of Lorenzen Wright
Marion had long suspected Sherra was behind her son’s murder, according to a 2018 Sports Illustrated report.
Her suspicions grew stronger in 2014 when Sherra wrote a book titled ‘Mr. Tell Me Anything,’ in which the wife of a professional basketball player murders her husband.
According to a summary on Amazon, the female main character becomes frustrated with ‘the constant chaos surrounding women, new acquaintances, family, and greed.’
Wright’s mother, Deborah Marion, had long suspected Sherra was behind her son’s murder. Her suspicions grew stronger in 2014 when Sherra wrote a book titled ‘Mr. Tell Me Anything,’ (pictured) in which the wife of a basketball player murders her husband
Eventually she ‘makes a life-altering decision.’
‘Does it work out for her good?’ the summary concludes ‘Did all his lies finally catch up to him? Would he or she pay the ultimate price?’
The $55 million Wright earned during his playing days was gone by the time of his death, according to SI.
As part of Permanent Parenting Plan filed in January 2010 as part of her divorce, Sherra demanded that Lorenzen take out a $1 million life insurance policy for the benefit of his sons and daughters in the event of his death.
Court documents revealed in Shelby County, Tennessee back in 2013 showed that Sherra Wright lavishly spent $973,000 of the settlement within 10 months of receiving it – even though the money was designated to support the couple’s six children.
That included a $11,750 for a trip to New York, $69,000 on furniture and a $7,100 deposit on a swimming pool – causing a legal battle between Wright and her former husband’s surviving family.
In a SI-Fox Sports investigation into Wright’s death in 2015 Sherra Wright was asked if she played a role in her late husband’s death, but she did not reveal anything.
‘At first, I’m a wife, then I’m a mother, and then thirdly I’m an author,’ she said. ‘The law enforcement should do what’s best to find out who’s the killer.’
Lorenzen Wright played for 13 seasons as a forward and center in the NBA, including several for the Grizzlies in Memphis, where he was born and raised.
Deborah Marion, mother of former NBA basketball player Lorenzen Wright, speaks with reporters, Monday, March 21, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn., after a jury convicted a Tennessee man in the slaying of her son, whose bullet-riddled body was found in a field nearly 12 years ago. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
