Jury finds Billy Ray Turner guilty in killing of Lorenzen Wright

A Shelby County jury found Billy Ray Turner guilty of first-degree murder in the 2010 shooting death of Memphis hometown hero and NBA star, Lorenzen Wright.

The jury returned a unanimous "guilty" decision on all three counts — first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and attempted first-degree murder — after deliberating for less than three hours Monday.

The attempted first degree murder charge stemmed from a failed plot to kill Wright in his Atlanta home before the July 2010 shooting.

Because of the time lapse between the moment Wright was killed and the moment police discovered his badly decomposed body, investigators lost key evidence that would have facilitated a quicker investigation.

The case was considered cold for several years, until investigators found reason to reexamine the role of Wright's ex-wife, Sherra Wright.

Sherra Wright was indicted around the same time Turner was at the end of 2017. She is currently serving a 30-year sentence.

Jurors hear testimony from 'unindicted co-conspirator'

Throughout the trial, jurors heard testimony from investigators, friends of both Wright and Sherra Wright, and from Jimmie Martin, the cousin of Sherra Wright who helped clean up evidence after Wright was killed.

Martin, who is currently serving time for the murder of his girlfriend in 2008, was the prosecution's "unindicted co-conspirator." In exchange for helping investigators, Martin was granted immunity from charges related to his role in covering up Wright's death.

Defense attorney John Perry directed a significant portion of his defense of Turner to picking apart statements and finding inconsistencies in Martin's accounts of Wright's murder.

Jimmie Martin: Key witness in Billy Ray Turner's trial describes night Lorenzen Wright was killed

Timeline: Lorenzen Wright's disappearance and killing

Martin, Perry said, was a man that changes facts "as often as he changes his drawers."

Ultimately the inconsistencies from Martin's statements in 2012, and then again in 2017, did not rise to meet the level of "reasonable doubt."

Shelby County Asst. Dist. Atty. Paul Hagerman noted that while Martin was a convicted murderer himself, an abundance of corroborating evidence proved to investigators that Martin was being truthful about the key aspects of the case.

"This was always going to be a difficult case," Hagerman told reporters. "But everywhere we looked, we found more corroboration."

Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich attributed the successful outcome of the case to "relentless work" put in over thousands of hours over the last 12 years.

Wright's mother: 'I couldn't give up'

After the verdict was read, Wright's family was mostly silent — save for Wright's mother, Deborah Marion, who was jubilant.

Marion said she had suspected Sherra Wright's involvement in her son's murder since "day one." When she learned more about Turner's then-alleged involvement, she knew in her heart that he was involved as well, she told reporters.

Marion has been present at nearly every court hearing, every motion filed in the prosecution of both Turner and Sherra Wright. In the years since Wright's death, she's stayed steadfast in her efforts to keep attention on the case by speaking in multiple documentaries on the subject, and inviting press with her to visit Wright's grave every year on the anniversary of his death.

"I knew I couldn't give up," Marion said. "If I gave up, who was going to take my place?"

Marion noted that while she knew the verdict would not bring her son back, the closure it brings means something. Following the verdict, she said, she would be visiting Wright's grave once more — this time bearing good news.

"Maybe now," she said, "I can sleep through the night."

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jury finds Billy Ray Turner guilty of killing Lorenzen Wright