Law enforcement authorities in Riverside, CA, arrested Sherra Wright on December 15 on a fugitive warrant following a first-degree murder charge for the shooting death of her 34-year-old ex-husband, Lorenzen Wright. Wright, who was an NBA player for 13 seasons, was found decomposing and shot to death near Memphis in 2010 – nearly two weeks after he was reported missing, according to several news agencies.

For the Memphis Police Department, the arrest of 46-year-old Sherra Wright marks the end to a seven-year investigation into pro baller Lorenzen’s death and one of the agency’s “most high-profile” unsolved murder case, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

‘Thank you, Jesus,’ says former b-ball player’s mother following arrest

Lorenzen’s mother, Deborah Marion, received a call from the Memphis police on Friday around 10 PM. She went with her family to the police department. After learning that her son’s ex-wife was arrested, Marion, exclaimed, “Thank you, Jesus,” the Commercial Appeal reported. “They got her!” Federal marshals and police in Riverside County arrested Wright, according to a statement on Saturday by Michael Rallings, Director of Memphis Police, as well as the Times-Picayune.

On December 5, Billy R. Turner was also charged with first-degree murder following an indictment for Wright’s death. Turner, who is a landscaper and who went to the same church as Sherra Wright, reportedly conspired with the NBA player’s former wife to kill Lorenzen, who was a forward and a center for the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and, lastly, the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2008 to 2009.

Finding murder weapon ‘was key’ in cracking killing case

In November, law enforcement caught a break in the case when they found the murder weapon, a gun, approximately 75 miles from Memphis. The gun, according to Rallings and the Times-Picayune, “was key.”

On July 19, 2010, Germantown, TN, 911 dispatchers received a call from Lorenzen’s cell phone, but could not peg the location and did not notify police.

When officers were informed of the call eight days later, Wright’s badly decomposing body was located by using cell towers. Before Wright was murdered in a field near a golf course, he reportedly called 911 around midnight on July 19. Police recovered shell casings at the scene and an autopsy on Wright found that he was shot at least five times, the Appeal reported.

Police dubbed murder case investigation ‘Operation Rebound’

The investigation that led to the arrests of Turner and Wright’s ex-wife was dubbed “Operation Rebound,” according to multiple news agencies. Darren Goods, Memphis Police Major, explained that the case was given its name as a result of the undeniable connection between basketball, the effect of a rebound, and law enforcement having a “second chance” to effect closure in the previously unsolved murder case and assisting the family in providing “some relief,” according to FOX News.

The Appeal noted that law enforcement authorities with the police gang unit in Memphis attained information about the murder case in either May or June. The evidence officers ferreted led them to Turner and to the former NBA player’s ex-wife.

In addition to attending the same church, FOX News relayed that the duo was Facebook “friends.”

Goods also said that an objective of law enforcement in following the evidence was that police investigated the murder “as if it just happened,” FOX reported. After going to the crime scene, police investigators “walked in Lorenzen’s final steps,” Goods stated.

Player’s mom believes insurance policy payout motivated murder

Wright’s mother believes that an insurance policy motivated her former daughter-in-law and Turner to kill her son, according to FOX and to the Appeal. Lorenzen had a $1 million policy that his ex-wife was paid. The policy was intended to benefit the couple’s six children.

In addition to the Memphis police, US Marshals and police in Riverside, CA, Goods stated that the FBI and Collierville Police Department, TN, assisted in the case.

Both Turner and Sherra Wright face charges that evolved from a three-count indictment, according to the Appeal. Turner pleaded not guilty but is currently in custody without the possibility of posting bond. His next court date is January 29.

Wright, who is presently behind bars in Riverside County, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday in California. The Appeal noted that the Sheriff’s Office in Shelby County, TN, is pursuing her extradition “as soon as possible.”
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