A jury has convicted a Tennessee man in the murder of former NBA player of Lorenzen Wright, who was found dead in a field in Memphis in 2010. A 12-person jury found 51-year old Billy Ray Turner guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of the former NBA big man.
Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee sentenced Turner to life in prison for murder. Turner will be sentenced for the other charges at a later date.
Wright's mother, Deborah Marion spoke to reporters after the verdict, saying "it'll never be closure, because I'll never see my son again."
On July, 28, 2010, Wright's body was found with bullet holes in a field in east Memphis. The former first-round pick had been missing for days before his body was even discovered.
Turner had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon as a convicted felon. The 51-year old had been in possession of two guns when he was initially arrested for Wright's murder in 2017.
Turner was serving a 16-year prison sentence for a gun charge prior to this latest conviction.
Prosecutors have alleged that Wright's ex-wife, Sherra Wright, formulated a plan to have Lorenzen Wright killed and chose Turner and her cousin, Jimmie Martin, to carry out the plan. According to prosecutors, Turner was a landscaper that went to church with Sherra Wright and had a secret romantic relationship with her.
Turner and Sherra Wright were indicted back in December 2017. Sherra Wright entered a guilty plea to facilitation of murder in July 2019 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
When Lorenzen Wright was murdered, Martin was already facing charges of killing his girlfriend. Martin ended up being convicted and is currently in prison. However, he did receive immunity from prosecution in the murder case of Lorenzen Wright.
Martin did testify that Turner and himself met with Sherra Wright to come up with the plan to murder Lorenzen Wright at his condominium in Atlanta. The duo planned to shoot Lorenzen Wright, but when Martin and Turner went to Wright's home, a man was sleeping on the couch. However, the man wasn't Lorenzen Wright, so the two men said they didn't murder anyone.
At the time of Lorenzen Wright's murder, Martin told prosecutors that he was in Batesville, Miss. In addition, Martin stated that he went to the Memphis field with Sherra Wright days after Lorenzen Wright was murdered and she confessed.
Sherra Wright allegedly lured her ex-husband to the field by telling him that she was going to meet someone there to obtain some money, according to Martin. Martin also alleged that she and Turner ambushed Wright and shot him. Neither Turner or Sherra Wright testified throughout the trial.
Sherra Wright received a $1 million payment from Lorenzen Wright's life insurance policy at the time of his death.
