Becerra has long been viewed as an advocate for immigrants. I'm like, "It's -- nothing is going to be enough for you.". All Rights Reserved. Who Is Sithelo Shozi, Andile Mpisanes Girlfriend and Baby Mama? he's a cold-hearted murderer. She pleaded not guilty. DEBORAH MARION [WREG NEWS REPORT]: nowhere he could be that I don't know where he is We checked all his friends from here to Atlanta, Mississippi, everywhere. Alyssa Macon-Moore of the Memphis Police Department wrote in an e-mail to the AP that police were investigating the death of an unidentified man beside a wooded area about 15 miles . Both were arrested and charged in December 2017. She told investigators she had last seen Wright drive off with an unknown man carrying a box of drugs that she claimed he was trying to sell. Just this week, a surprise development in one of Memphis, Tennessee's, biggest murder cases. He had been convicted of second-degree murder in an unrelated case that had occurred three years prior to Wrights death. Wright, according to his ex-wife, left his home in Collierville, Tennessee on the night of July 18, 2010. Dr. Bill Adkins: The arguments primarily were about two things: infidelity and finances. Life seemed to continue on until November 2017, when police announced a huge break in the Wright murder investigation: They had found one of the murder weapons -- a gun -- in a lake in Walnut, Mississippi, about 45 minutes away from Wrights former home. Wright, the Grizzlies' starting center, had flown with the team from Memphis following Friday night's 126-116 victory over Miami for Saturday night's game at Dallas. And when we pull up at the house he said, 'I'm going to go in here and I'm going to calm her down, and I'll call you later and then we can go out.". Wright Robinson, however, also claimed to investigators that there was a drug connection. Wright and Turner pleaded not guilty to all charges, but the indictments revealed two startling claims. Lawson Wright is one of them. His body had gunshot wounds. Marc Perrusquia: We talk about big murders in the history of Memphis. Phil Dotson: I'd gotten a phone call from him that he had gotten in town. They questioned Robinson and she told them that he left her house around 2am on the 19th of July. When Wright Robinsons plea bargain was announced in court, the judge allowed Marion the chance to speak to her sons ex-wife. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. In college, Wright scored more than 1,000 points and was mentioned on All-American team At a bond hearing in May 2018 came a stunning revelation: the prosecution identified the alleged co-conspirator. Phil Dotson: His daughter Sierra passed away of sudden infant death syndrome. Lauren Daigle Biography Is She Married and Who is Her Husband? Dr. Bill Adkins: somebody just murdered him. SHERRA WRIGHT: I was married to an NBA basketball player for 13 years, April. James Brown: How did this impact the city as a whole? Never in my life did I think it would take so long [to solve].. 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 . He'd had been playin' basketball that evening. Always would -- would be one of the first ones to raise their hand when the team would ask for a player to go into a children's hospital, or to go and speak at a school or an event. Wright was never implicated in any criminal activity. But, as Nevels put it, just as fast as he was making money, money was being spent.. You know, he had no money! Sounds like the script of a Hollywood movie right? Robinson was the daughter of his high school basketball coach and the two reportedly met during practice. She was easy on the eyes, Nevels said. 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. When authorities found Wright's badly decomposed body nine days later, attention quickly turned to his ex-wife, Wright-Robinson. And fight they did. After 13 years together, the couple divorced in February 2010. Wright and his wife welcomed a total of seven children during their marriage. Her son, Lorenzen Wright, was murdered in 2010, and now she is facing Frierson's death. In the fiscal year that ended last September, migrants were stopped 2.38 million times, up 37% from 1.73 million times the year before. He took care of Sherra Wright's lawn and was also a deacon at her church. He was still wearing a watch and a chain. He hadn't been resting for 12 years." Patricia Vassar, Deborah Wright's sister, sits down next to Lorenzen Wright's grave Sunday, November 13, 2022. But I think they wanna know the details of what happened, you know. But what they didn't realize at the time was that Lorenzen had actually left behind a clue. He would give people jobs, said Dotson. He left with drugs and an undisclosed sum of money. "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. Memphis police did not say why they arrested Sherra Wright, but seven long years after the murder of Lorenzen Wright, they finally got their suspects. Kelvin Cowans: Tough, really tough. I mean, I've heard stories about that. On the 18th of July 2010, Wright returned to Memphis in order to spend some time with his kids. With the community still in shock, the city's mayor, A.C. Wharton, made this promise: Mayor A.C.Whatron [At memorial]: We are working night and day And that justice will be done. She has asked Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee -- who approved her guilty plea in Lorenzen Wright's slaying and sentenced her to 30 years in prison -- to hold an evidentiary hearing on her petition. James Brown: People running to her defense maybe? Dr. Bill Adkins: When you're used to spending $40,000, $50,000 a month in just change, just spendable income and you get accustomed to that, you know, $10,000 a month seems like poverty row. Toney Armstrong served with the Memphis Police Department for 27 years and was their deputy director back then. He picked up his eldest son from the gym and later dropped him off at his ex-wifes house. She's a great mom. A Memphis native, the 6-foot-11 Wright played 13 seasons for the Memphis Grizzlies and four other NBA teams. Turner was a landscaper, a yardman who happened to be a deacon in a small country church that Sherra attended, said Memphis journalist Marc Perrusquia. Although, Kelvin Cowans had broken up with Sherra Wright, he thought she would be happy when the gun was found. Lorenzen Wright's Children. Thousands, including coaches, former teammates as well as relatives, trouped out to pay their respects. [I thought] I cannot believe that your apex of life is still, How much money can I get? Cowans said. But there are still divisions. His name is Jimmie Martin, a convicted murderer currently serving time in prison. After not hearing from her son for more than 48 hours, Deborah Marion filed a missing persons report with the police. Watch fullscreen. Wright's uncle, Curtis Wright, told The Associated Press that police called the player's father, Herb Wright, Wednesday afternoon with the news he had died. 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. who knows what and how it all fits together. What about his wife and kids? Then, on July 28 -- 10 days after Lorenzen was last seen -- Shelby County authorities were finally told about the 911 call. Cowans came back home to Memphis and Sherra moved her kids to Riverside, California, where her brother is the pastor of a church. 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. 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. Dr. Bill Adkins: If Lorenzen had never made the NBA, he'd be alive and well right now. James Brown: How unusual is it to find a key piece of evidence some seven years later? Wright's mother has. 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?" Prosecutor Paul Hagerman [to reporters]: I expect nothing but a fight. I remember havin' a conversation with an investigator by the name of Darren Goods. He was retired from the league when he was killed. Sherra Wright and Billy Ray Turner were charged with first-degree murder, by writing a book about his complicated relationship with Sherra Wright. In this Sept. 29, 2008, file photo, the Cleveland Cavaliers Lorenzen Wright poses at the team's NBA basketball media day in Independence, Ohio. Cowans said the relationship eventually fell apart because he couldnt get past what he described as her obsession with getting money from Wrights estate. He's also Sherra Wright's cousin. Of course the president does not believe that processing migrants should be treated like an assembly line, and neither does Secretary Becerra, she said. He was killed physically. One, a previous murder attempt by Wright and Turner. They fell for each other and subsequently commenced a relationship. And I can't -- I'm not gonna believe anything other then he's fine now. Thats wicked, Montae Nevels, Wright's friend, told "20/20. An insight into Wright and Robinson's martial life shows that it was less than perfect. Library. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Nearly a week after a jury convicted Billy Ray Turner in the Lorenzen Wright murder, his family returned to his gravesite to pay respects Sunday evening. And I do mean spend. Born in Oxford, Mississippi, Lorenzen Wright moved to Memphis to play basketball at Booker T. Washington High School. Kelvin Cowans: Absolutely. Well, it is not. DEBORAH MARION [WREG NEWS REPORT] Phone goes straight to voicemail. ", When youre the mother of six kids and youre married to their father, and you would [want to] see him dead, thats just evil. and I said, "No." Kelvin Cowans: I say, "Hey, the police have done this great thing. Yet, Gipson said Wright still had an intimate relationship with his ex-wife. The coroners report said he'd been hit by five bullets from two different guns: two shots to the head, two to the chest and one to his right arm. Billy Ray Turner is charged with conspiring with Wright's ex-wife in the slaying. Eileen Gus Parents: What is Known About Her Dad and Mom? Wright founded the Sierra Simone Wright Scholarship Fund after the death of his infant daughter in March 2003. Gayle Rose: Lorenzen took a very special liking to Max. 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. Wright's body was found July 28 in woods outside Memphis after he had been missing for 10 days. Lorenzen Wright played for several pro teams before ending up with his beloved hometown franchise, the Memphis Grizzlies. How Old Is Marty Raney and What Is His Net Worth? 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. Lorenzen was traded to Atlanta, which he would call home after leaving the NBA in 2009, while Sherra and the kids stayed in Memphis. She don't deal with no grass cutter! said Marion. A jury on Monday convicted a Tennessee man in the murder of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright, who was found shot dead in a field nearly 12 years ago in his hometown of Memphis. He was 34. Toney Armstrong: What was different about this particular case is that you're nine days behind. Marion is forced to wait longer for a resolution. 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. But before long, Sherra was nearly broke again -- having blown through the million dollars in just 10 months, spending most of it on expensive homes, luxury cars and extravagant trips. I said, "The public wants to hear from you Sherra," you know and she just wasn't -- she wasn't with it. I advised her not to, because at that point, what difference does it make, said Ganguli. The couple left Houston and went their separate ways. APRIL THOMPSON: So how are you getting by now? Lorenzen Wright #42 of the Memphis Grizzlies shoots over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Memphis, Tenn.,April 11, 2006. And the second claim? It turns out though, that more money meant more problems. Lorenzen and Sherra Wright talk with the media about the death of their daughter Sierra, "Goddamn:" Lorenzen Wrights desperate call for help, The coroners report said Lorenzen had been hit by five bullets from two different guns: two shots to the head, two to the chest and one to his right arm. She's spiritual. KCAL NEWS REPORT: Memphis police just announced Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife is now charged with murder. May 12, 2018. I mean, Lorenzen Wright was a true hometown hero. Tribune Broadcasting. After the gun announcement, investigators said they started monitoring Wright Robinsons and Turners cell phones, and alleged that they learned incriminating information. Sherra Wright faces a charge of first-degree murder for his death. On the 911 recording are his dying words and the sound of 11 gunshots: 911 OPERATOR: Germantown 911, where's your emergency? Wright's killing nearly 11 years ago is one of the most highly publicized murder cases in Memphis' history. He reportedly earned a career total $55 million. She also insinuated that her husband was involved in some criminal activity by claiming that he left her house with drugs and cash. OSherra Wright and co-defendant Billy Ray Turner appear in court in Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 5, 2018. As Memphis mourned, months turned into years and the city became obsessed with solving the murder of its favorite son. Wright was the father of seven children. But he didn't get the reaction he expected when he called her to celebrate. If Henry Ford had seen this in his plants, he would have never become famous and rich, Becerra told staff during a meeting last summer in a recording. "Her mother and Lorenzen used to date, and she thought Lorenzen was her biological father, but they. At the time of his death, Wright was operating under a child support order requiring him to pay $16,650 a month in child support and another $10,000 a month in alimony, for a total of. 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