A HOMETOWN NBA HERO GUNNED DOWN IN THE WOODS - SEVEN YEARS LATER, POLICE GET A TIP THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING - WHO KILLED BASKETBALL STAR LORENZEN WRIGHT?

"48 Hours" Investigates in "Lorenzen Wright: No Defense"

Saturday, May 12, 10:00 PM

Lorenzen Wright was a superstar player in the NBA and a hometown hero to many in Memphis, Tenn. That ended in July 2010 during a call to 911. The chilling recording captured his dying word: "Goddamn." A dispatcher then heard repeated gunshots - 11 in all - unaware where it was happening or who was on the other end of the line.

Wright, who spent 13-years in the NBA, including several playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, was found nine days later in a highly wooded area.

Who wanted Wright dead, and how does a beloved basketball player's life end that way? CBS News special correspondent James Brown and 48 HOURS investigate the life and death of Wright and the hunt to find out what happened that night, in "Lorenzen Wright: No Defense" to be broadcast Saturday, May 12 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

It's a case driven by police determined to find the killer or killers, a family that pushed investigators to keep going when the case went cold, and one that took stunning turns and got a big boost seven years after the murder when a key piece of evidence was located in a Walnut, Miss., lake. The story is also far from over.

"You can just listen to that tape and know he was in trouble," says Toney Armstrong, former director of police at the Memphis Police Department, who oversaw the investigation. "We literally threw everything we had at this investigation. We really wanted to solve it. We really, really wanted to solve this case."

Wright was successful on the basketball court and was a role model for many off the court.

"There's thousands of little boys in Memphis who were impacted by Lorenzen Wright," says friend Gayle Rose.

As is always the case, police looked to Wright's immediate family for information and potential suspects. His ex-wife, Sherra Wright, told police the last time she saw him he was getting into a car with two unidentified people.

Sherra Wright later suggested Lorenzen was involved in some sort of drug transaction and was planning to flip something for $110,000. She also told police there were mysterious gunmen stalking Wright in the final days of his life.

The coroner's report on Wright indicated he was hit by five bullets from two different guns.

"Somebody just murdered him," says Pastor Bill Adkins, Wright's mentor and advisor. "Not for money, not robbery. Just wanted him dead."

The case dragged on with little movement.

Fourteen months after Wright died, Sherra Wright got a $1 million life insurance payout. Nearly four years after the murder, she remarried. And then, five years after his death, she wrote a book called Mr. Tell Me Anything, about a philandering NBA player, which she claimed was based on her time with Lorenzen. Sherra Wright also claimed she was writing a sequel where the philandering husband in the first book was murdered.

Some thought Wright's murder case would never be solved. Armstrong says he was frequently asked for updates about the investigation. With his own retirement looming, Armstrong was approached by investigator Darren Goods, who felt he could solve the case.

Then, seven years after the murder, police got a tip that led them to a lake where they found a gun believed to be used in the murder.

"That's the needle in the haystack," says Armstrong. "They found the needle in the haystack."

That was just the first in a series of twists leading police to arrest two people - Sherra Wright and Billy Ray Turner. They've both entered pleas of not guilty and are awaiting trial.

"Do you believe that someone, some people, over the last seven years, knew who the killer or killers were but withheld the information?" Brown asks Armstrong.

"I think that you can say for a certainty there were two people that knew," Armstrong says.

Brown and 48 HOURS report on the case through interviews with those who knew Lorenzen Wright best: friends, local journalists who covered Wright's story, and Armstrong.

48 HOURS: "Lorenzen Wright: No Defense" is produced by Josh Gelman, Alvin Patrick and Jaime Hellmann. Mike Baluzy, Michael Sheehan, David Spungen and Karen Brenner are the editors. Jordan Kinsey is the associate producer. Judy Tygard is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

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