Revisiting A Murder in Memphis: The Lorenzen Wright Story

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2022

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s been over a decade since NBA veteran Lorenzen Wright was murdered. Wright’s twin sons, Lamar and Shamar were just ten years old when their father was killed. Their mother, and Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of her husband in 2019, then attempted to reverse her plea to not guilty, but has since dropped the bid and will serve out the remainder of her sentence. And this week, one of the suspects who was accused of the crime, Billy Ray Turner, was found guilty of murder by a Tennessee jury. Through the loss of their father and the arrest of their mother, Lamar and Shamar Wright have pushed on, and are now playing college basketball together. Lisa Salters shares the story of Wright’s murder and the family he left behind, also covered in the E:60 A Murder in Memphis, available on demand now in the ESPN app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey guys, it's Pablo, and I'm talking to you here at the top of the show because you're about to listen to an episode that we think is both important and timely.
0:12.0	It is about Lorenzen Wright, the former NBA player who was murdered in 2010, and also the family he left behind.
0:21.3	This week, one of the suspects in that case, a man named Billy Ray Turner, was found
0:26.8	guilty of rights murder by a jury in Tennessee, and he got sentenced to life in prison.
0:33.7	So today, we tell you the story of the case up to that point.
0:38.6	In an episode, we first brought you last July with Lisa Salters.
0:42.7	But it has newfound relevance right now.
0:47.8	It is Thursday, March 24th.
0:51.0	This is ESPN Daily.
1:06.4	Lisa Sauters, you're here today to talk about your E-60 special, and it's called a murder in Memphis,
1:11.2	and it's the story of the murder of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright, whose body was found riddled with bullets in a remote field out in Memphis 11 years ago this month.
1:20.1	This is a case that went years without an arrest, and even today is still ongoing.
1:27.0	So what drew you to this case? Well, Lorenzen Wright was an NBA
1:34.4	basketball player. Lisa Salters is a reporter for E-60. He wasn't a superstar, but he was a highly
1:42.5	regarded big man for all the teams that he played for.
1:46.2	So that alone, the murder of an NBA player, that's compelling enough.
1:51.7	But what really makes his story unique is how the murder of Lorenzen Wright, how it affected
1:58.5	everyone around him, particularly his family.
2:02.7	He had seven children.
2:04.5	He had twin sons, Lamar and Shamar, who are now playing basketball themselves in college.
2:13.2	Part of the reason I know I play basketball is because of him.
2:15.9	I want to make sure people know that we're continuing his legacy,
	...

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