He is the first child of Lorenzen Wright and Sherra Wright and he is 26 years old. Just wanted him dead. Marc Perrusquia: supposedly, a few weeks before they actually killed him, they tried to kill him down in Atlanta. Now it would be a shame if, if throughout all this, that -- that we forgot that. The book revolved around a philandering NBA player who later gets murdered. Gayle Rose | Lorenzen's friend: Well I know at the time Toney Armstrong was their chief of police, and this was very personal to him. The chilling recording captured the 34-year-old's dying word: "Goddamn." Should I go after it, should I go to court?" Wright grew up in Memphis and started playing basketball when he was still in high school. Police find Lorenzen's body near a back woods road some 20 miles outside of Memphis. LONDON (AP) British police said Tuesday they have launched a major search for a two-month-old baby after officers arrested the infant's mother and her boyfriend who had been missing since January. Prosecutor Paul Hagerman: Martin stated he accompanied Billy Turner to a lake, where Billy Turner disposed of a handgun that was used to murder Lorenzen Wright. I mean, because, you know, we kept hearin' these things about Sherra. Lorenzen Wright was a second-team all-American power forward from the University of Memphis who went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA for various teams. The couple lived lavishly and burnt through the $ 55 million that Wright made in his career. Lorenzen Wright, #42 of the Memphis Grizzlies, shoots a free throw during Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the San Antonio Spurs at the SBC Center on April 17, 2004 in San Antonio, Texas. How could you?". Lorenzen Jr, then 15 years old, was the oldest of six, and the youngest, Sofia, was still a baby. Dr. Bill Adkins: The arguments primarily were about two things: infidelity and finances. Robinson was the daughter of his high school basketball coach and the two reportedly met during practice. German 'babysitter' convicted in major child sex abuse case. Lorna Masekos Age Accomplishments and Net Worth, Evodia Mogase Biography: Who is the South African Socialite and What is Her Age, Who Is Elsa Majimbo? He is Lorenzen Wright's and Sherra Wright's first child, and he is 26 years old. Sierra Wright, Lorenzen Wright's youngest child, was born in 2002 but died 11 months later. Gayle Rose: he was one young man who was working to make a difference in his children's lives, in other children's lives. Prosecutors allege Wright's ex-wife, Sherra Wright, masterminded a plan to kill her ex-husband and recruited Turner and . Marc Perresquia: The book is about a woman who has been wronged, who's very embittered, who's been abused emotionally, has been cheated on. Two days after dropping off Lorenzen at his ex-wife's home, his friend, Phil Dotson got an unexpected call. On the 18th of July 2010, Wright returned to Memphis in order to spend some time with his kids. The list of children is Sierra Wright (born in 2002 but unfortunately died 11 months later), Lorenzen Wright Jr. (born on April 11, 1995), Loren Wright, Lamar Wright, Shamar Wright, Sofia Wright, and Lawson . She also insinuated that her husband was involved in some criminal activity by claiming that he left her house with drugs and cash. The story of murdered former NBA player Lorenzen Wright will be featured in a documentary airing as part of ESPN's E60 programming on Wednesday night. Wright Robinson, however, also claimed to investigators that there was a drug connection. He was a power forward who played for. Wright Robinson denied any involvement during questioning with police as well as in a local TV news interview. But then just this thing of, you know, why can't they catch these guys? April Thompson: His mother Deborah, really kind of pushed that something's not right, and made people realize that he wouldn't have been gone this long that no one heard from him. Deborah Marion: [to reporters on Feb. 26] This is hard, but I'm glad. Finally, nine years after the tragic death of Lorenzen Wright, this plea offers some solace to his mother and maybe a measure of closure for the city of Memphis -- still in mourning for its favorite son. She don't deal with no grass cutter! said Marion. Sherra was -- she's hilarious. Prosecutors declined to comment to ABC News for this report. Martin claims that it was he who plotted with Billy Ray Turner and Sherra to kill Lorenzen Wright -- first in an aborted attempt in Atlanta --. The police eventually made a headway when they discovered a 911 call that had been placed by Wright around 12:05am, 19th of July. The couple later tied the knot in 1998. Though his date of death is listed when his body was found, he was almost surely killed on July 19, when that 911 call was placed. Toney Armstrong: I wanted to be able to make that phone call to her and tell her, you know, that we found the person responsible for this. Lorenzen was crushed by the tragic death of a seventh child, a baby girl who fell victim to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. One weekend, Wright flew home to Memphis to attend his daughter's dance recital and his sister's baby shower. Even though he had reportedly earned more than $55 million during his NBA career, Lorenzen had burned through most of the money and was almost broke at the time of his death. Then his character was assassinated People now don't think of him as that charming, happy young man who played for Memphis. There was no incidence to it. He has already pleaded guilty to a gun charge related to Lorenzen Wright's shooting. Toney Armstrong: Because his body wasn't found for a long time after he had initially been reported missing. However, the writer is best known as Lorenzen Wright's ex-spouse. She said the last time she saw Lorenzen was on that Sunday night, July 18, at her home. She and Turner then conspired to kill him in Memphis, authorities have said. He would sign every autograph that he came across. Fighting to stay in the league, Wright was at the tail end of his career when he went back to the Hawks for a time, and then played for the Sacramento Kings and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then came Loren Wright, their oldest child. The case grew cold, Toney Armstrong: I don't remember ever goin' more than a month without somebody askin' me about Lorenzen Wright's murder "Have you all made any headway on it?" As the days passed Lorenzen's disappearance became one of the biggest mysteries Memphis had ever seen. The two men had earlier tried to kill Wright in his Atlanta townhouse in early 2010 but did not succeed. On July 22, his family filed a missing person report. Phil Dotson: I'd gotten a phone call from him that he had gotten in town. Lorenzen Wright pictured with mother Deborah Marion at an unknown date. Phil Dotson: And, I ended up droppin' him off that night at about 10:00 p.m. And when I dropped him off, he said, "Let me go in here and deal with this. According to the Shelby County Sheriff's Department, Wright's wife, Sherra, checked on the child in her crib at about 10:30 a.m. and discovered that the baby wasn't breathing. Meanwhile, in their search for possible suspects, detectives were uncovering details of Lorenzen's private life -- and it was troubling. Lorenzen told me the marriage ended because he didnt trust Sherra anymore and she felt the same about him but they were still going to try to find a way to raise these kids, said Mike Gipson, another one of Wrights friends. In a new video that's been circulating, first reported by The New York Times, the secretary urged his staff to discharge children from the federal governments broken system of shelters faster. Just this week, a surprise development in one of Memphis, Tennessee's, biggest murder cases. So he comes over Were kicking back, were relaxing, smoking cigars on the patio., That evening, Dotson said Wright's ex-wife called him demanding that he bring their son back home "now. Kelvin Cowans: No one wants to come to a realization that a mother with no criminal background, mother of seven of his children, would be involved in his murder. Wright is believed to have been killed on July 19, 2010, when gunshots were heard during his 911 call. Did she have a financial motive in all of this, because here's a quick $1 million. [applause] That's our pledge. Our prayers go out to him. Memphis players wore armbands with Wright's number 42 for Saturday night's game as a show of support. "You can just listen to that tape and know he was in trouble," says Toney Armstrong, former director of police at the Memphis Police Department, who oversaw the investigation. Assistant District Attorney Paul Hagerman is one of Shelby County's best prosecutors, but he's trying to manage expectations. I want you to unlock them so I can get to them so they can see their grandma, because Sofia keeps calling. Sherra now has two court appointed attorneys: Juni Ganguli and Laurie Hall. After having Lorenzen Jr., the couple got married and had a daughter named Loren, twin boys named Lamar and Shamar, another daughter named Sofia, a son named Lawson and a girl named Sierra, who died of sudden infant death syndrome when she was a baby. They were once king and queen of the Mardi Gras. But I do know that Sherra is quite capable of manipulating a man. It was July 19, 2010. The oldest child, Lorenzen Wright Jr., is 26 years old and played basketball at Robert Morris University. Sherra Wright filed a petition for relief of conviction or sentence after her surprise guilty plea to facilitation of murder in July 2019. Dr. Bill Adkins | Lorenzen's mentor: As far as Mr. Billy Ray, I have never met him, don't know him. I wouldn't never moved away with her if I thought she was guilty. SHERRA WRIGHT: I was married to an NBA basketball player for 13 years, April. "You got the wrong person." And that caused severe issues between him and his wife. You know, Memphis basketball was literally everything. I'm like, "It's -- nothing is going to be enough for you.". Becerra has long been viewed as an advocate for immigrants. The player had been hit by five bullets from two guns; two shots to the head, two to the chest and one to his right arm. When Wright Robinsons plea bargain was announced in court, the judge allowed Marion the chance to speak to her sons ex-wife. Thats wicked, Montae Nevels, Wright's friend, told "20/20. . And he's fine now. Cowans, a journalist, started dating Wright Robinson that same year even though he admits their relationship crossed a professional line. I mean, he could run the floor better than any big man I ever saw in my life. Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright was born on the 4th of November 1975 in Oxford, Mississippi. Marc Perrusquia: We talk about big murders in the history of Memphis. There was a lot of speculation going around that she knew something, that she had something to do with it. After her book was published, Sherra agreed to an interview with Kelvin Cowans -- a freelance reporter for the Tri-State Defender. Their children include Lorenzen Wright Jr, Loren Wright, twins Lamar, and Shamar Wright, Sofia Wright, and Lawson Wright. No. They fell for each other and subsequently commenced a relationship. That -- that was when I first started to believe that, you know what, maybe I haven't been looking at grief, you know, all this time. SHERRA WRIGHT: No, April. Marc Perrusquia: She also told the police that there were these mysterious gunmen who were stalking him in the days before the murder. After they broke up, Wright Robinson relocated to California with her kids. Kelvin Cowans: In walks this 5' 10" goddess I just couldn't forget, you know, how I felt when I saw her; I thought she was beautiful. And he pledged that he would find the killer. Tribune Broadcasting. While playing summer basketball in his junior year of high school, Wright met his ex-wife Sherra Robinson, who became Sherra Wright Robinson. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Wright would go on to spend a total of 13 years in the league during which he played for teams such as the L.A. Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers. Nine days after the distressing 911 call, after Memphis police found out about the 911 call, they were able to pinpoint where it was made. Martin alleges that he was not present for the actual murder, but he did help Turner and Wright clean up the crime scene. A dispatcher then heard repeated gunshots 11 in all unaware where it was happening or who was on the other end of the line. According to the Shelby County Sheriff's Department, Wright's wife, Sherra, checked on the child in her crib at about 10:30 a.m. and discovered that the baby wasn't breathing. He was still wearing a watch and a chain. Prosecutors agreed to a lesser sentence of 30 years in prison and parole eligibility, for which she could be released as early as 2026. That ended in July 2010 during a call to 911. Marc Perrusquia | Reporter, The Commercial Appeal: They had two homes, expensive homes that were in foreclosure Sherra said they were bouncin' checks left and right. So it's easy for somebody to say, "Well, the-- the obvious suspect was right there in front of you the whole time." She implied that Lorenzen was involved in some sort of drug transaction and was planning to "flip something for $110,000.". I was like, Shes baring all, said Kelvin Cowans, referring to the book. James Brown | CBS News special correspondent: Put in perspective how big the Lorenzen Wright story is here in Memphis. All Rights Reserved. With the 12-year journey of bringing her son's killers to justice now over, Marion said it could never replace the son she lost. It was just unbelievable that he was dead. Sherra, I want to thank you for giving me my grandchildren, thats what I want to thank you for, she said in court. Lorenzen Wright was a 34-year-old basketball player in the NBA, who played for a total of 13 seasons after being drafted seventh overall in the 1996 draft. Although he skyrocketed into the fast life of the NBA, Wrights childhood friends said that he never lost touch with his roots. He had been convicted of second-degree murder in an unrelated case that had occurred three years prior to Wrights death. OSherra Wright and co-defendant Billy Ray Turner appear in court in Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 5, 2018. After her, were twins Lamar and Shamar Wright who were then followed by their youngest, another daughter, Sofia Wright, who today, is in her early teens. In court, prosecutors said the break had come from Wright Robinson's cousin, Jimmie Martin. She pleaded not guilty. So that's an intriguing element to this. Lorenzen's ex-wife, Sherra, went on the news -- appearing shaken. With Lorenzen, Id be talking to his picture and sometimes his picture could look at me a certain way like its really him He was a mommas boy. And I said, "Well, I figured he might just be outta town, he's not answerin' the phone call." And it was personal. And still, there were no arrests for the murder of Lorenzen Wright. Kelvin Cowans: I didn't even believe she had anything to do with it. Well, it is not. In 2010, he was found shot to death over. Sherra claimed it was based on her life with Lorenzen. Billy Ray Turner is charged with conspiring with Wright's ex-wife in the slaying. Then, on July 28 -- 10 days after Lorenzen was last seen -- Shelby County authorities were finally told about the 911 call. draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Turner, a previously convicted felon on unrelated charges that stemmed from a case in the early 1990s, was found in illegal possession of a gun when he was arrested for murder in the Wright case. Ultimately, it wasn't up to Sherra Wright. 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