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Former NBA player Lorenzen Wright's murder case was one of the most-covered media events when it occurred. Years after the case went cold, with the police unable to track any possible suspects, a new development in 2017 burst open the doors for investigation, leading them to the perpetrators, Billy Ray Turner and Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife Sherra Wright-Robinson, who allegedly orchestrated the murder for money and personal benefits.
This case is the subject of this week's Oxygen's Snapped, which airs every Sunday. On the October 30th episode, the show covered the brutal murder and the long-drawn investigation, which concluded earlier this year with Billy Ray Turner's sentencing. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. On the other hand, Sherra Wright-Robinson also received a 30-year sentence for her involvement in the crime. She took a plea deal.
Here is a look at how the authorities finally cracked the cold case of Lorenzen Wright's death.
How did the authorities reach the perpetrators in Lorenzen Wright's murder case?
Lorenzen Wright, one of the most renowned and well-known NBA stars, was first reported missing by his ex-wife on July 22, 2010. She allegedly claimed that Lorenzen left her home in Collierville, Tennessee, on the night of July 18, with drugs and an unspecified amount of money and had not returned since. Authorities investigating this matter found no concrete link even after discovering the dead body a few days later.
Nothing specific tied Lorenzen's ex-wife to this crime, and Billy Ray Turner was a long shot. The first shred of suspicion fell on Sherra after she allegedly spent the $1 million that she received from Lorenzen's insurance policy, which he left for his children. But this was not enough to tie her to the crime.
The breakthrough came in 2017 when Wright-Robinson's cousin, Jimmie Martin, who was involved in a separate murder case, started talking about Wright's murder while awaiting sentencing.
He reportedly told authorities that his cousin and another man named Billy Ray Turner came seeking his help and admitted to killing Lorenzen Wright. Martin also allegedly pointed the authorities to the murder weapon, which was found in a lake in Walnut, Mississippi.
The weapon was the key to opening the case up as it reportedly led the authorities directly to Billy Ray Turner. After surveilling some phone call exchanges between Sherra and Billy, the police arrested both suspects for the murder of Lorenzen Wright.
Sherra first pleaded not guilty to the crime but later accepted a plea deal in 2019, where she pleaded guilty to facilitation to commit first-degree murder and facilitation to commit attempted first-degree murder. She was handed a 30-year sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 percent of the sentence was served.
Billy Ray Turner pleaded not guilty to the homicide charges, and his trial was scheduled for 2019. With new evidence and other reasons, his trial was significantly delayed, but it took place earlier this year, where a jury of 12 men and women found Turner guilty of first-degree murder after three hours of deliberation. He was sentenced to life in prison.
The October 30, 2022, episode of Snapped covered this story in detail.
