A jury has convicted a Tennessee man in the murder of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright, who was found dead in a field in Memphis in 2010. attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of former NBA big man.
Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee sentenced Turner to life in prison for murder. Turner will be convicted at a later date for the other charges.
Wright’s mother, Deborah Marion, spoke to reporters after the verdict, saying “it will never close because I will never see my son again.”
On July 28, 2010, Wright’s body was found with bullet holes in a field east of Memphis. The former first-round pick was missing for days before his body was even discovered.
Turner had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. The 51-year-old was in possession of two weapons when he was initially arrested for Wright’s murder in 2017.
Turner has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for possession of a pistol before the latter conviction.
Prosecutors say Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra Wright, plotted to assassinate Lorenzen Wright and elect Turner and her cousin Jimmie Martin to carry out the plot. According to prosecutors, Turner was a landscape farmer who went to church with Sherra Wright and had a secret romantic relationship with her.
Turner and Sherry Wright were charged in December 2017. Sherry Wright pleaded guilty in July 2019 to murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
When Lorenzen Wright was killed, Martin was already facing charges of killing his girlfriend. Martin was eventually convicted and is currently in jail. However, he was granted immunity from prosecution in the murder case of Lorenzen Wright.
Martin testified that Turner and himself met with Sherra Wright to come up with the plan to assassinate Lorenzen Wright in 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. The man, however, was not Lorenz Wright, so the two men said they had not killed anyone.
At the time of the murder of Lorenzen Wright, Martin had told the prosecutor that he was in Batesville, Miss. In addition, Martin said he went to Memphis Field with Sherra Wright days after Lorenzen Wright was killed and she confessed.
Sherry Wright allegedly lured her ex-husband into the field by telling him she would meet someone there to get some money, according to Martin. Martin also claimed that they and Turner ambushed Wright and shot him. Neither Turner nor Sherra Wright testified throughout the trial.
Sherry Wright received a $ 1 million payment from Lorenzen Wright’s life insurance policy at the time of his death.
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