A defense attorney for a man charged with fatally shooting former NBA player Lorenzen Wright attempted to poke holes Friday in the testimony of a convicted killer who said Wright’s ex-wife gave him details about the slaying.
Jimmie Martin has provided key testimony in the trial of Billy Ray Turner, who has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder in the death of Wright, a Memphis native who played 13 seasons in the NBA before he retired after the 2008-2009 season.
Prosecutors allege Turner and Martin were asked by Lorenzen Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra Wright, to kill him in Atlanta, then Memphis, in 2010. At the time, Martin was facing charges of killing his girlfriend. Martin was convicted and is currently serving prison time in that case. He has received immunity from prosecution in the Wright case.
Martin is Sherra Wright’s cousin. Turner is a gardener who knew Sherra Wright from church and, according to prosecutors, had a secret romantic relationship with her.
Martin testified Thursday that Sherra Wright recruited him and Turner to kill Lorenzen Wright, whose decomposing body was found riddled with bullet wounds in a swampy field in east Memphis on July 28, 2010. The 34-year-old father of six had been missing for days before his body was discovered.
Wright’s slaying is one of the most highly publicized murder cases in Memphis history.