Tennessee man sentenced to life in prison for murder of NBA’s Lorenzen Wright

A Tennessee jury on Monday convicted a man in the Memphis murder of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright in 2010, The Associated Press reported.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee handed down a life sentence to Billy Ray Turner, who will be sentenced for other charges at a later date.

Prosecutors alleged that Sherra Wright, Lorenzen Wright’s ex-wife, recruited Turner and Jimmie Martin, a cousin of hers, to help concoct and carry out the plot to eliminate her ex-husband. 

The government said that Turner, a former landscaper who attended the same church as Sherra Wright, had a secret romantic relationship with her as well.  

Sherra Wright and Turner in July 2010 lured Lorenzen Wright, a 13-year NBA veteran, to a field, where he was ambushed and chased before being shot and killed as he tried to jump a fence and run away, the AP reported. 

Lorenzen Wright’s bullet-riddled body was found nine days later. 

Sherra Wright entered a plea of guilty to facilitation of murder in July 2019 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Turner, 51, was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in the death of Lorenzen Wright, the AP noted.