was larger than life. >> reporter: he was larger than he was a hometown hero. life. he was our hometown hero. very humble beginnings to the nba. and then he's murdered. this is lorenzen wright. it was as if an explosion went off. >> hello? >> someone is running for their life and there is multiple

gunshots. >> makes the pair on the back of your neck stands up. >> you and your london was so close. >> she's my first born. >> who would do this to him? >> every friend, every family member. >> the divorced spouse, she was the last person known to have seen him. >> we had to dig into that. >> there are these mysterious gunman showing up, looking for lorenzen. >> who are these people who came into the house? >> gosh, do you think they will ever figure this out? >> fame, fortune, a fatal plot. who killed the basketball star? >> how is this possible? and it blew me away. >> it was under everyone's nose is the whole time. >> yeah. how is that for a kicker? ultimate evil. it was just after midnight

in memphis. a sunday turned into monday. on peel street, the blues clubs were blaring. barbecue joints still sizzling. even the lights of nearby graceland were a glow. just outside of town, in this treeline field, it was quiet. peaceful. not a soul insight. then, suddenly, an unmistakable sound echoed through the trees. that is the actual sound of a murder in progress caught on audiotape. the crime, conceived weeks earlier, was now complete. it all began july 2010, when one of the city's favorite sons returned to town. lorenzen wright, simply, ran,

played high school in college basketball here in memphis, later starting for the hometown and the grizzlies. just 34 years old, ran was larger than life. according to close friends -- >> how was he here in memphis? >> extremely. everyone loved lorenzo. you had to notice pam is six foot 11, six foot ten. everyone knows it's him. >> cosmetic, yet humble. was generous as he was outgoing. >> he was kind. never saw a time when he would shut people away or say crude thanks to people. the guy would give you the showed up his back. >> -- >> charming. quite charming. i handsome guy. >> lorenzen was at the end of a solid and be career. no, divorced and living in atlanta. he would often come back to memphis to visit. so, on a sunday in late july,

he arrived and's stayed the day with phil dawson and some of the threats. >> carving sunday afternoon with just the guys hanging, bonding. >> a few hours later, lorenzen picked up this at a local gym, and then dropped them off at his ex-wife's, where he sometimes visited when he was in town. >> he said, i will call you later. so, that being about ten pm, i left. got home and i never heard from him. >> sunday night past. no call from lorenzen. >> i went on the text, he didn't reply. >> i'm sure you try to reach him the next day. >> next day. nothing. >> was that odd or still thinking that he's busy? >> well, that he was busy with the family. it wasn't a big deal. >> resin was known to go off of the grid occasionally. plus, he had a scheduled trip to las vegas later that week. maybe he just left early.

>> at vegas, because in, you don't get up [inaudible] at that it was kind of weird that he didn't text me back. but i didn't think anything about it. >> lawrence's mother was already worrying. she had been trying to reach him all week. >> he never not answered my call. never not called me. >> did you think maybe he's in vegas, having a really good time? >> not much of. he and call me, no. >> lorenzen's mother found a missing persons report with police fall bill sounded his own personal alarm. >> i'm sending him sos coat that we had reach other when we needed one. i didn't hear anything from him. >> s things turn for you, when he didn't respond to that? >> i start getting word. i'm like, man, where is he? >> basically banished. >> vanished from the face of the earth, yes. yes. >> which is totally up my camp. because he is mr. social, mr. awesome guy friend. >> someone was happy to have

spoken with him. the reds and had groups of friends. he had his family, his sisters, his brother. he had his fraternity brothers and nobody had heard anything. everybody is really, really nervous at this point. >> they called me in the middle of nice, hey, did you know that lorenzen wright is missing? >> former memphis police chief, armstrong, work on the case. >> what do you mean, missing? how does a guy that is 6:11, how can i get his butt on tv every week for most of his adult life go missing? that is impossible. >> at six foot 11 and 255 pounds, lorenzen wright is hard to mess. but he has been missing, for a week. >> police are searching for former memphis basketball player -- >> but out, the local media was all over the story. >> hasn't surfaced anywhere. >> the disappearance of lorenzen wright. >> investigators say there is nothing to suggest that right is not alive. however, as time passes, the situation grows more worrisome.

>> it was shocking. what do you mean lorenzen wright is missing? >> anthony covered the story for wnc tv him of his. >> the whole town was a buzz. >> lorenzen's former wife, cheryl, told reporters he was fine the last night she saw him. >> you're not going to leave anything other than he's fine. i just need someone to call and see him or anything from him. >> rents mother was already expecting the worst. >> i told the police when i first caught him missing. my son isn't going to be good when you'll find him. >> your intuition was telling you? >> no way. no way. >> you must normally feel a spiritual connection to your son, or? >> yes. i told police. i don't know how to explain to yell, he's dead. >> that this place needed more than a mother's intuition. that, they found that terrifying recording. [sound of gunfire] >> he was literally running for

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ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. ask your eczema specialist tonight, police are reporter: tonight, police are searching searching for former memphis basketball player, lorenzen wright. >> seven days, still, no sign up lorenzen wright. one of the last to see him alive was his ex wife, cheryl. >> there are no new leads or anything. it's mind-boggling. we're hopeful. today's one of the worst is for me because it's an entire week. >> with each passing day, lorenzen's mother became more fearful. >> you must be frantic? >> yes. i called everybody, everywhere. that he would be associated with. nobody, nothing. >> but, police did find a club. a big one. buried in florence's phone records. that last call lorenzen wright ever made was to 9-1-1.

>> georgetown 9-1-1. where is your emergency? >> the detectives chase that call to germantown, a memphis suburb. police there were not able to geo locate the call and never followed up on it. >> that's the voice of lorenzen wright as he faced his killer. >> hello? >> it would take eight days from the time he went missing for memphis police to find that recording. >> it made the hair on the back of an extended. it was the last four cameras. listen to that tape, brought it all home that you knew that. it was beyond distress. >> how does something like that happen? how does that go unreported? >> for whatever reason, on that particular dispatcher, justin fala and send it. >> that's no joke when someone is running for their life and there's multiple gunshots being fired. >> i've heard people call 9-1-1 in distress before. i've heard people colonsay, hey, there's a burglary my house, and hiding in the closet. i've heard people say, hey, i'm

adamant. there's a shooting. a whole lot of other circumstances. i had never heard of that 9-1-1 call like that one. >> live pictures here from chapter five. placer not say anything official at this point. >> police were able to trace the 9-1-1 call from nearby cell phone towers. soon swarmed the field on the outskirts of town looking for lorenzo. >> at a shelby county sheriff's crew near hacks press and winchester road. >> it didn't take long. search team suddenly noticed something very disturbing. >> breaking news, memphis police red southeast memphis, a body has been found. >> that day when his body was discovered, i was in the newsroom. the film started buzzing. sense everyone, all the man power in our news room, went out to that scene. the police chopper was up.

the street was packed. the word went around town like wildfire. anyone who knew lorenzen literally hopped into their car and drove to that scene. >> because of the discovery spread quickly and crowds of rights franz, often off the court, suddenly grew. >> it was still a full on crime scene lorenz's mother arrived. >> then, across the police line, to where the body was being recovered. >> i want to let walk his last walk to bill what happened. let me walk the last path he walked. >> why did you want to do that? >> i want to feel but he left. i knew. >> of course, she knew. it was her first born son, a ransom. >> police have notified the

family that runs and wright was found dead here. >> by now, a large crowd was holding an impromptu memorial at the grim site. among them was when's friend, kenny hardaway. >> a great loss. such an early age. amid, it's senseless. >> that, lawrence's body, which had been left in the siri memphis some are ten movies, was taken inferred autopsy. >> i've seen decomposed bodies before, but i was not ready for that. i was not ready for lorenzen remains. i would not have known that was him. >> reporter: lorenzen wright was just 34, the father of six young children, now police confirmed the horrible news with the rest of his family and close friends. >> i literally remember freezing. i dropped the phone, and my

mind went blank. like, what do you mean that he is dead? then he told me, he's been in the field for some days, and it was bad. it was bad. i hung the phone up, and i cried. i cried. all i can think of, i just started having flashbacks of all the things that we have done together, best man at my wedding, my children's godfather, being at his wedding, but someone had pulled my heart out of my chest and just stomped on it. >> so, it was your best friend? >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: word also spreads out to atlanta, where lorenzen's old friend and her mate mike gibson was officiously awaiting any news. >> when i found out, i cannot walk. i was paralyzed. i was like, this could not be true. >> reporter: a first, nobody

knew what exactly happened to lorenzen. >> was there any thought that perhaps lorenzen was robbed? he is a rich guy. >> he is a rich guy, but at the time of his death, there was a jewelry recovered, personal belongings recovered. >> reporter: then it's what the autopsy revealed, he had been shot multiple times, with wounds to the chest and even his face. >> it was an assassination, in nature. >> i read the autopsy report, and just trying to make sense of how gruesome it was but how can somebody do that to him? when you listen to the 9-1-1 tape, the number of times i think he was shot, and to know that those shots were to his face -- >> that's personal. >> that's personal. that's a deep rooted eight. >> so hateful and so personal,

which suggested the killer might have actually known lorenzen. >> i just could not imagine anybody wanted to harm him. >> if you think that he was targeted? >> no, i thought maybe somebody wanted to rob him. but who would do this to him? >> and why? a few tiny clues left behind at the crime scene would bar fried a huge lead. it appeared not only did somebody want lorenzen, maybe there was more than one person involved in this murder. r. help prevent covid-19 from breaking your momentum. you may have already been vaccinated against the flu, but don't forget this season's updated covid-19 shot too. bladder leak underwear has one job. i just want to feel protected! especially for those sudden gush moments. when your keys are in the door and your body's like, “it's happening”! if you're worried about your protection, it's not the right protection.

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>> reporter: memphis was in memphis was in mourning. mourning. it was a sad day in the summer of 2010, when the city paid its last respects to lorenzen wright. the funeral was such a big deal, it was televised by several local stations.

>> his funeral, oh, boy, well, it was pretty much the who's who of mathis. >> reporter: lorenzen's mother could barely keep it together, never imagining that you had to bury her oldest child. >> i did not want to live -- >> you and lorenzen we're so close. >> i promise you, taking my firstborn, it's just -- >> you too had been there so much together. >> yes, indeed. we kind of grew up together, since i was so young when i had him. >> reporter: lorenzen's ex-wife and their children can't to say their goodbyes to. six young children left without their father. >> it was just surreal. the town had already been through the shocked that he was missing. and then he was killed so brutally, murdered.

now, here you are, and it's his funeral. the morning was a little bit deeper. the loss of such a great person and the fabric of mantas society was so tragic and painful. you can see that on peoples faces, all the tears, the hugging. >> reporter: to help the city heal, the memphis mayor made a promise. >> justice will be done, that's not a pledge. >> reporter: justice, of course, dependent on a thorough police investigation. detectives were not playing catch-up, given how long it had taken to find lorenzen's body after he was murdered. at the crime scene, clues were already emerging. >> police found different shell casings at the scene. >> reporter: different casings, which means that more than one gun was used to murder lorenzen. >> which indicated that there possibly were two suspects responsible for the shooting. >> reporter: tony armstrong was

already feeling the heat to crack one of the biggest cases of his career. >> this case was personal to you? >> it was. at that time, i vowed to the public that i would solve it. i wanted to be able to tell his mom that we got the person, that was responsible for this. >> reporter: but what who would do such a thing and why? lorenzen came from humble beginnings in mississippi, where he was born and i started playing basketball. but it was here in memphis where he became a star during his fiscal days. and was showcased at tournaments broadcast on local tv. >> nice shot, lorenzen wright. >> reporter: that's when he met his future rife sarah, whose father was his coach at the time. memphis investigative reporter, mark heresy. >> a lot of people did not know about him until he played a you ball, with sheriff's dad. sherisse that brought him up to memphis, and he might ask ball in america.

>> coaches, like i don't know what this boy doing, but he'll make some money one day. >> reporter: cheryl also like what she saw when the two began dating. even though she was almost five years older, as ren's friend bill afghans immediately notice. >> she was different. he could tell that she was quite mature, quite savvy, sexy, can i use that word, sexy. >> absolutely, -- >> she was the kind of grow their guys look. at >> reporter: lorenzen, the country kid, was smith in about the city cow. >> what was it about sharon that he fell so fast for? her >> sex. >> sex? >> he was 17, she was 22. >> so she hurt him in? >> he had his little girlfriend, but she was not doing all the stuff that sarah was doing. she was a lady, not a kid. >> reporter: they romance flourished, and so that his basketball career. college at the university of

memphis, his star continued to rise. >> two years of college, he told me and as that he's getting ready to go to the nba. i said, no he's not, you got two more years. he said, mama, think about it, who is going to pay me 1 million dollars for my first job? i thought about it for 50 minutes, i said, when you say you live in? >> reporter: then in 1996, after a sophomore season, lorenzen hit the nba jackpot. at the tender age of 20, ren was an instant millionaire. by now, sarah, giving birth to their first baby, lorenzen junior. the three settled in l.a. and i mediately began living in southern california high life. after a second season, ren and sarah married. >> i was one of the groomsmen, and it was an awesome affair. the wedding was beautiful, looked like a fairytale.

>> reporter: -- for over a year when ren played for the clippers. >> and sarah did not mind you being the house caucus? >> no, she didn't. they were always known for having huge hearts. >> reporter: ren played three seasons for the clippers and then we're down to atlanta, signed another multi million dollar contract before being traded to his hometown team, the memphis grizzlies in 2001. to local fans, it was like the return of elvis. back home, ren reemerged themself in the community. he opened a restaurant while committing to local charges and children. >> there was a summer camp here that was huge, thousands of kids attend, giving back to the community was one of the things that really made him happy. >> reporter: over his career, lorenzen earned some $55 million which he lavished on his friends and early family. >> by anything he wants, houses,

cars, take care of his friends, take care of his family, anybody put a hand out, he opened the gate to them, could never say no to people. >> they actually build a home beyond the suburbs. it was huge, 13,000 square foot home, cost several million dollars. >> reporter: and inside their giant garage -- >> they had a couple of ferrari 's. he loved cars. >> he bought two and one month. >> reporter: and sarah? >> she bought jewelry. >> or talking diamonds? >> watches, earrings, bracelets, she loved to decorate her home, custom drapes, custom upholstery on couches, and a couple of months ago, by and she will change everything up again. >> reporter: it was an embarrassment of riches. but behind the gates of their memphis mansion, there was trouble in paradise. >> he was a rock star, and it being a rock star comes certain

temptations that come at you. >> she was having affairs as well? >> things like that, yes. with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. feeling ughh from a backed up gut? miralax works naturally with the water in your body to help you go... ...free your gut. and your mood will follow. for 8 grams of fiber, try new mirafiber gummies. hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine

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our top stories. john kerry will step away from the post as president biden's top climate diplomat as there are three years on the job. carrie will reportedly leave this winter and join president biden's reelection campaign. and dangerously cold rain, freezing rain and heavy snow is protected for much of the u.s. into next week with near record lows expected in the midwest and sub-zero temperatures in the deep south. now back to dateline. o dateline december 25, 2007. >> december 25th, 2007, everybody's about to come downstairs. everybody going to come downstairs, don't make no noise. >> reporter: three years before lorenzen wright's death, his

family could be seen in this video celebrating what would be one of their last christmases altogether. the house was decorated, and there were plenty of presents under the tree. ren was playing center for the kids, and in the garage, sarah had a surprise waiting for him. >> you love it, daddy? >> i love it. >> reporter: it was right out of a christmas movie, but behind the scenes, reporter mark says that their life was not always so picture perfect. >> people who knew them yell, they knew that they had troubles. >> reporter: a volatile mix of infidelity and jealousy, he says. >> it was a darker, darker side. >> reporter: for lorenzen, life in the nba was intoxicating. under the bright lights in the biggest cities with plenty of

cash, clubbing and women. >> he was a rock star, and with being a rock star come certain temptations that come at you. >> and those temptations unfortunately did come over at times. >> at times, at times. i think that literally, the thrill of being on the road, the season can go a nine months at a time, going from city to city, hanging out would nba players and other billionaires, and temptations are real. >> by sarah's account by the time he got to the nba, it was like a constant parade of women. he was young, a good-looking guy. he had all at this opportunity. i think he took advantage of it. >> reporter: sarah, according to lorenzen's mother was cheating to, and not to discreetly. >> i heard things she should

not be. doing >> infidelity? >> if you are going to do that, go to the next town over. >> she was flaunting other man in her hometown. >> yes, -- >> so she wanted to act like a single woman, even though she was married? >> oh, she did. >> reporter: ren what's this about sarah's alleged affairs, according to their close friend, bill atkins. >> he was very concerned about what he perceived to be her infidelity, i can't leave home, just are, hearing stories and rumors about all of these guys. at the same time, he knew that he was not totally a saint as well and that area. he was looking into solutions to solve some of the marital issues that they were having at times. >> he wanted to make it work? >> he absolutely wanted to make it work. >> reporter: in 2003, amidst all the turbulence, an unexpected tragedy rocked their world. it involved the couple 11

month-year-old daughter sierra. >> reporter: -- found the baby not breathing in her crib on saturday. she roster to a nearby medical center, where she was pronounced dead. >> the doctor or port said that she died from sits, sudden infant death syndrome. >> she's we got, i know that. i am going to work hard to try to get myself there. >> did a causation in his marriage? >> i think you did. he was on the road when it happened. not being able to get there and protect his daughter, i think he always regretted the. >> reporter: ren's friends say that two years later, the couples problems escalated to a whole new and now dangerous level. >> there was a situation that happened, and lorenzen went to the house where supposedly she was there with another guy. she knew the gentleman. >> he went ballistic. i think he had a gun. >> reporter: the story made the local newspapers, which

reported that ren there and the man and also attacked sarah. >> she has marks on her face. he hit her, and the police arrested him, but she did not testify against him. lorenzen had a public image to uphold. she did not want to expose part of that. >> reporter: no charges were filed. in a newspaper, account ren denied harm's way for having a gun, but we spoke to a woman who was there who told us that she feared for service life. with the help of counseling, their tumultuous marriage somehow stayed intact, and and he does a seven, they even renewed their vows. >> everybody thought, now they're good again, sure enough, a few months passed by, no, the same thing is happening again. >> back to the? fighting >> back to the fighting. >> reporter: often, it was about money, sit close friend phil, especially when it came to sara spending. >> there were times when she would spend money and not tell him that she was spending money,

maybe get back at him for discussions. >> it would be large sums of money that he would think is in the checking account, and it's not there, because of her spending. >> this was causing stress in the marriage? >> absolutely. >> reporter: by 2009, lorenzen 's nba career was winding down, but so worth it multibillion dollar paychecks, which is did not help his rocky relationship with sarah. >> you could see quickly that the marriage was headed to a demise. >> reporter: lorenzen and sarah's part of that year and went their separate ways. says ren's close friend mike gibson. >> he says she's doing her thing, under my thing, -- >> the law man, i want to run for him, sarah filed for a wrongful force, and their marriage was over in 2000. ten ren's said he was relieved. >> he could not take it anymore, she was making him sick, her

face. >> was it finally liberating for lorenzen the be finally out of the marriage? >> finally free. >> reporter: as part of the divorce settlement, lorenzen took out 1 million dollar life insurance policy that would be paid the six children upon his death. it would be administered by sherra, since she was awarded custody. ren was also ordered to pay alimony in child support, totaling $26, 000, a month. >> lorenzen, even though he made $55 million playing basketball, he was broke. he had two very expensive homes that were foreclosed on. they were bouncing checks left and right. they burned through all this money. he seemed to be in need of money. >> reporter: big money, but from where? detectives had a new lead about how ren was trying to raise some quick cash, and it would take his murder investigation in a whole new direction. >> you had to take the drug

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for 8 grams of fiber, try new mirafiber gummies. when police catch fora homicide case,r, po>> reporter: one police catcha the victim is usually a stranger. homicide case, the victim is usually a stranger, but many at the memphis police department knew lorenzen wright, including tony armstrong. >> this is a guy i used to talk to. i used to eat in his restaurant, occasionally, he would come to that next to me. we had conversations about the town. it was chilling. >> reporter: chilling to think how this hometown hero was so brutally murdered, seemingly for no reason. so, armstrong and his team of detective started their investigation, by looking at the victim himself. >> let's retrace the steps. who was the last person who's seen him alive? who knows him better than anybody else? let's talk to his wife. >> there are no new leads or

anything. it's mind boggling. >> reporter: that would be sherra wright, ren's ex-wife. she was interviewed by investigators when he first went missing. >> i just need somebody the cost to say they heard anything from him. >> reporter: -- before ren's murder. >> there were mysterious gunmen showing up, gunmen with guns in their waistbands, knocking on doors, knocking on her door, looking for lorenzen. >> reporter: sherra said she was not sure who they were or what they want it. she also told police about the last time she saw ren, on the night he disappeared. >> she gave a statement that basically said, ren left in the middle of the night. >> he had been in her house? >> he had gotten there from atlanta sometime and deny. he leaves. >> reporter: sherra's timeline of lorenzen's last night at him arriving at her home around eight pm. she said ren later left around

10:30 but soon returned. then, she said sometime before 3 am, he left again with an unknown person, but that was not all. >> she told police that the night he was killed, he left with a box of drugs. he said he would flip something. >> she overheard him talking on the phone about turning over a large sum of money. she did not say who he was talking to. >> reporter: so detectives dug deeper into lorenzen's life. they confirmed that he was nearly broke, and they found something else, a connection of sorts to a shady character named craig -- >> he's probably one of the largest drug dealers that we have ever seen. >> reporter: in 2009, lorenzen's name surfaced and a special drug investigation of a lieutenant named bobby cole. coal turned over to luxury cars to police. when they're at the penumbras, attend out that the vehicles were registered and ren's. >> lorenzen never transferred ownership into bobby cole's

name, which is a classic drug scream where drug dealers come into money illicitly, like they won the lottery. >> reporter: deborah insist that it was not her son who so the cars but the guy who worked for him. in fact, ren was never charged with anything. but not that he was dead, the city buzzed with rumors that ren may have been the victim of a drug hit, especially given the way he was found in that field, executed. >> you had the take the drug very seriously, it was something that everybody was talking about? >> absolutely, famous people get killed and a drug rate, absolutely -- we had to make sure that we looked at everything. >> reporter: with his nba career done, the big paychecks had dried up, plus, those huge alimony and child support payments were due. police wondered if ren was desperate for money. could he have been dealing drugs to make some quick cash? so detective started

interviewing a whole new cast of characters to answer that very question. >> the performance that we had on the streets, every informant that we talk to, basically said that that was not the case. >> reporter: ren's family and friends were outraged at sherra for even suggesting that he might be dealing. >> when she came out and said that, he left with a box of drugs, i said, people came to the house, we'll, you take all his credibility away. none of it made sense. >> was lorenzen knowingly involved in any criminal activity. >> not that i know of at all. i never saw anything that would be out of the ordinary. >> reporter: so the drug theory, which seemed to sidetracked the investigation was not that. ren's mother had never believed it anyway. she was certainly the key to solving her son's murder was much closer to home. >> i told the police, you need to go talk to his ex-wife. >> reporter: lorenzen's mother

had never been sherra's fan. she was convinced that her daughter in law knew elite more about what really happened to ren. >> what did the police take about? you >> that i was a crazy lady. i thought them, i will keep on doing this, when there is blood warmth in my body. >> you will need a sign from god to back off of sherra? >> exactly, exactly. >> reporter: detectives did notice one thing, while deborah was relentless, sherra was reclusive. police did not hear a peep from her. >> the level of grief from both of the women, they were total opposite of each other. >> in fairness, one is the mom, one is divorced. >> you still have six kids with a man that was murdered. >> sherra it's not acting upset enough. that does not make somebody a killer. >> it does not make you a killer, it makes you a high level person to register. >> reporter: sherra hardly seemed like a killer, she was dating a sheriff's deputy who was deeply religious and spent a lot of time at church, where she was on track to become an ordained minister. she's also extremely devoted to

her six kids. >> how was sherra as a mother? >> she loved her kids. i saw love, saw nurturing, no way that she would have anything to do with taking her father away. >> reporter: in fact, police could not find any evidence linking sherra to the murder. as months ticked by with no new leads, the case began to go cold. >> reporter: it has been 365 days -- >> reporter: the force anniversary of ren's death, her mother -- the mother held a vigil. >> reporter: fans and family have lorenzen wright gathered at the forum for a memorial -- >> somebody -- >> reporter: but the and did not come. the case gathered does. more months passed, then years, sherra late low and moved on with her life, until somebody decided to follow the money. husband and i have never been more active. shingles doesn't care.

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join tlorenzen wrightpeople takin(on recording):ivacy >> this one is my daughter this one is my daughter right here. right here, my dogs, my three rottweiler's. >> reporter: to his fans, lorenzen wright seemed like a gentle giant, the last person that anybody would want to kill. but somebody most certainly did. the problem was, police could not figure out who. by now, for a long years had passed since his murder, and the case that once consumed the city of memphis was now ice-cold, according to former w. fc tv anchor, congee anthony. >> nothing, crickets, crickets, just crickets for years. and, every now and then, somebody would say, gosh, you think that they'll ever figure out who killed lorenzen wright? >> reporter: memphis detectives have cleared almost every possible suspect, but one in particular remain in the

forefront, lorenzen wright's ex-wife sherra. >> she's always been a person of interest, no matter who we talked to, no matter what door enough, down no matter what crime tip we got, it was that right back to sherra. >> was anybody coming to her defense and saying, she loved lorenzen, she would never do this. >> i am just getting people -- and add people come to their defense. i had never gotten a call from anybody that has defended sherra, ever. >> reporter: maybe that is why sherra had lawyered up and stopped talking to the police. out of the public, i see she sometimes surfaced at the mall of baptist church, where she was now an ordained minister and ran a nonprofit, born to profit ministries, which helps local kids. as for supporting her own children, sherra's primary source of income still came from ren. >> she is getting his insurance money and the pension from the

grizzlies and all the other nba teams, so the money is going to sherra, because she is the custody of her own children with lorenzen. >> there was that life insurance policy that lorenzen put in place for her is six children when he and sherra divorced. when his father found out that sherra was not using the money in their best interest, he sued. >> he spent somewhere like manager $30,000. >> burn right versus sherra wright, who received more than 1 million dollars between august -- >> we end up going to court. the entire insurance fund is almost all gone, and his father wanted to put a stop to that. >> >> reporter: robert wright is asking the court for sherra to be removed as trustee of 1 million dollar insurance policy. >> reporter: -- sherra was not a court and on camera. >> my whole life, pretty much, we are going to quite a bit.

it's difficult for the kids. it's been difficult for me, but i believe that we deserve to be happy. >> reporter: the court proceedings were contentious and exposed all the specifics of sherra's. >> more than $55,000 in furniture. more than $180 spent on expenses in four different properties. >> and the judge decided to get a receiver to take over the funds and to investigate what was going on with the money. >> reporter: which meant what was left of lorenzen's insurance money was now out of sherra's control. but losing a court did not stop sherra from watching a new career as an author. she wrote and sapulpa ship called, mr. tell me anything. you can probably guess who the title character was supposed to be. >> i think a lot of it may have been true, but i think a lot is made up. i think a lot was her perspective, and she wanted to make him seem like a really bad guy. >> reporter: the book seemed to be a fictionalized account of

sherra's tomorrow's life with lorenzen. it was hardly a bestseller, but ketanji anthony found it a thrilling read. >> dissimilarities between sherra, lorenzen and they do make characters in the book are uncanny. as you go to the book, you are hearing claims of infidelity to domestic violence. >> so, i asked her, did this really happen? she said, oh yes, it absolutely happened. 99.9% of that book is our realize, i just changed the names around. >> reporter: the book ends with the sherra and lorenzen character settling in for a night of romance. but in real life, ren's close friends were beginning to share the same suspicion his mom and police already had. that on the last night of his life, sherra was not ren's, she might have been involved in his murder. >> i felt very confident that

she played some type of role in it, but to what degree, i did not know. >> so maybe indirectly. >> indirectly, before the fact, after the fact, she had something to do with. it >> reporter: may be, but no man was able to prove it. as the fifth anniversary of ren's murder came and one, sherra would embark on a whole new chapter of her life with a new man in a new city, because she sicker pass and finally clear her name? >> you can run, but you can't hide. u can' hide i didn't know who i would be. but here i am... being me. keep being you... and ask your healthcare provider about the number one prescribed h-i-v treatment, biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in many people whether you're 18 or 80. with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to undetectable—and stay there whether you're just starting or replacing your current treatment. research shows that taking h-i-v treatment

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most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. ask about nurtec odt. [tense music] nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. they met for coffee in memphis, just after two years, 2015. he was a journalist, in search of a story. she was the ex-wife of lorenzen wright and seemed eager to check. >> it was my regular coffee

shop, owning the, between my. think that usually lasts 30 minutes. we actually sat there and talked for another six hours. >> he wanted to get inside the mind of sherra right. it had been five years since lorenzen's murder. she was still under suspicion. >> she couldn't believe how people were so upset with her. i asked her, did you have anything to do? that she said, no, absolutely not. i'm waiting on the day the on the person or the people who killed him. >> at the end of that marathon interview, calvin had his story and something else. >> we knew there was chemistry from the beginning. that's how it started. we almost fell in love immediately. >> sheriff had been keeping a low profile ever since her legal battle over lorenzen's estate. soon, she and calvin were out and about as their romance took off. then, a few months after they met, kelvin wanted to move to

houston where he had some work. so, sherra and her kids decided to go with him. >> she told me that she was moving to houston. she had enough of mothers and she was going to go down there and join the step of this very famous pastor down there. >> god created you to rise higher. >> joel bluestein, the real famous minister whose services are on tv and youtube. >> she had all these big plans, you know? she was going to go past her church, she was going to be a pastor of a mega church. she thinks in terms of big. everything is big and grandiose. >> they settled in the suburb of sugar land. life was sweet. at least in the beginning. kelvin got a nice house on a lake in a nice neighborhood with good schools for the kids and a church nearby. sherra never did preach with joel esteem. she did pray, a lot. >> sure would sometimes go in the closet with the pillow and covers and pray for hours.

you could hear. she's calling out her family and friends. sometimes i had to get up to 2:00 and 2:30 in the morning. i go in the closet, i've to get her up and say, hey, come on, koepka bed. >> even so, kelvin was convinced he met the woman of his dreams. her family felt like his. they shared everything, even their deepest secrets. nothing was off limits, including around since murder. >> we talk about the night he disappeared. what could've happened? said, i have no idea. i feel like she sherra still had feelings for evidence in. if he had not passed, i will be with him. i saved myself, there's no way she killed him. there's no way she had anything to do with it. who writes a book about somebody they kill? >> in fact, sherra appeared on a segment for sports illustrated and fox sports one in 2015. they asked her point blank if she had anything to do with lawrence's murder.

>> first, i'm a wife, that a mother, thirdly, i'm an author. law enforcement should do what's best to find out who is the killer. >> back in memphis, whereas his best friend, phil dawson, sasha. >> i'm thinking, come on, sherra, what type of answer is that? you know? did you do it? >> did you find that ought? >> i did. i found several things on. >> but you still didn't -- >> i couldn't. it couldn't. early on, in the marriage, there was love. to go from that to murder him? i didn't buy. couldn't but. >> neither sherra's interview or her salacious book provided police with evidence of the crime. >> it's almost like she's taunting won forsman with this book for some of that is supposedly gripping, try to book like that was really

bizarre. >> no real close in it? >> i don't think anything and there was a clue. >> sherra you think considered writing a sequel. instead, focus more on her family and continued her free spending ways, said kelvin. >> she had very expensive taste. i told, her sherra, your appetite for a nice thing is not healthy. she said, that's why god made me. so, i'm like, we're not gonna make it with what you think. your finances are off. >> according to kelvin, sherra was also spending a lot of time on the phone. apparently, having secret conversations with someone he didn't know. >> i feel like sherra might have been cheating on me. i suspected a lot. or >> sherra deny choosing someone. gradually, there once hot romance cools. they grew apart and after two years together, calvin says he decided it was over. >> the day after her birthday,

that was -- she was very upset. she didn't want me to go. kelvin returned to tennessee to restart his life. sherra headed to california where she and the kids moved in with her brother. back in memphis, detectives were quite late making progress. a man with information would come forward. he had quite a story to tell. >> she asked me about my case. like, could you kill someone again? i'm out of breath, and often out of the picture. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night.

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ask your eczema specialist andrea canning: it's called the inland empire, riverside empire. riverside county, a sprawling stretch of southern california's suburbia, east of l.a.. it was here, in the little town of marietta, where sherra wright and her kids settled down in 2017. you've got the feeling she was starting a new life, outside the shadow of lorenzen wright's murder in memphis. all the way across the country. >> almost 1600 miles and seven years removed from ren's murder memphis. just, some sherra seem to have moved on in terms of what happened at home. even on the anniversary of his death. >> seven years ago to the day, his family members reported lorenzen wright missing. >> once again, lorenzen's family gathered to pay their

respects. another year, another vigil to keep hope alive that his murder might somehow be solved. >> we're going to keep this thing going. year after year because i know that's what people want us to do. >> we love you lorenzen! >> getting colder by the day. we're no closer to finding the guy who did it. there's not a day that goes by that i don't think about him and what happened to him. i always kept the detectives phone numbers, just in case they said, let us know if they come up with anything. >> by now, many in memphis were losing patience with those detectives. seven long years, still no rest. no justice. lawrence and's mom had been pounding places the whole time, calling, showing up at the station. her soul mission in life with solving her son's murder. >> did you feel like there is never going to be interest in

this case? >> no. no. i have to stay alive. before i die, they will find some of. they're going to get her. >> specifically sherra? >> her. right. i told them over and over and over. >> tony armstrong took some of her calls. >> she was relentless. she would not let it go. >> don't mess with mama. >> don't mess with mom's babies. >> she tried -- that the case was still active. that sherra really was on their radar. >> one thing to have a gut feeling but i know this person is responsible for this. you have to be able to convince the jury. >> you just didn't have enough evidence? >> we just don't have enough evidence to do it. >> but the police did have something. a potential witness. a man with a shady past and an explosive allegation. which police had kept secret for five years. an informant who actually knew sherra and had a strong motivation to talk. >> what happened was, jimmy martin, who is sherra cousin,

killed a love interest that he had. it's that time, 2012, when he's going to present, that he tells that he wants to flip into a deal. >> jimmy said he knew what happened to ren and he offered to tell a story to detectives. so, in 2012, two years after ren was killed, a meeting was held at this tennessee prison, where jimmy claim to reveal who was behind the murder. that was his very own cousin and ren's ex-wife, sherra. >> chief told me that she'd been having threats from lorenzen and he hired somebody to kill her. she wanted him dead, before he killed her. >> jimmy said a meeting took place at sherra's the house, some two months before ren's murder. two other men were there. >> billy was over there and another gentleman. but i don't know his name. >> billy? >> yeah, he was a gardener.

>> sherra's gardner, billy turner. remember how lorenzen expected sherra might be sleeping with her lawn man? was this the same guy? maybe. if so, this wasn't the only connection between sherra and billy. >> so, who did sherra ask to kill lorenzen? >> she asked billy. >> billy had a rap sheet, but in recent years, seemed to have gone straight. when he wasn't busy running his landscaping business, he was fulfilling his duties at the very same church where sherra preached. >> he was a deacon of this church. she was a pastor. how deeply they know each other? there's a lot of speculation. it appears they were intimate. >> billy and sherra, according to jimmy, met with them again, inside her house. this time, got down to specifics. >> and she asked me, could i be the shooter? and that, and i was like, no, i can't do nothing like that. >> at what point in here where you offered anything to do it?

>> she said she could help me with my court case. if this happens, i get it insurance, money i got the nba money and i'll take care of y'all. she said, whoever does the shooting gets $50,000. >> money can be a great motivator. jimmy said it was long before sherra and billy came to his house in batesville, mississippi. a sleepy little town south of memphis. this time, she revealed how and where she wanted them to do the job. >> she said, well, why don't you want billie go out there and take care of it? >> where did she want you to take care of him at? >> i guess go to his house. >> in atlanta? >> so we went. >> with directions from sherra, he said they headed to atlanta and straight to lorenzen's apartment complex, where they climbed to an open window. but ren wasn't there. >> there is somebody on the couch with a bald head. >> police later figured out the bald headed man asleep on the couch was ren's roommate,

gibson. >> the reason i've been there, i'd be gone to now, you know? >> according to jimmy, he and billy spotted security guards, out of the condo and hightailed it back home. jimmy said after their failed attempt, they met with sherra again. now, she had a whole new plan for ren's murder. this time, on her home turf. >> she was, like i want to come to memphis. it'll be easier that way. >> sure enough, at sherra's request, ren did come back to memphis for the last time. >> and then what happened? >> he ran. [sound of gunfire] [inaudible] [sound of gunfire] [inaudible [inaudible ily hiv pills because i switched to every-other-month cabenuva. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. it's two injections from a healthcare provider. now when i have people over, hiv pills aren't on my mind.

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oooh! refill? help yourself man. dude? dog food in the fridge? it's not dog food. it's freshpet. real meat. real veggies. real weird. he was bad luck anyway. freshpet, it's not dog food. it's food - food. i think he's having a midlife crisis i'm not. you got us t-mobile home internet lite. after a week of streaming they knocked us down... ...to dial up speeds. like from the 90s. great times. all i can do say is that my life is pre-- i like watching the puddles gather rain.

-hey, your mom and i procreated to that song. oh, ew! i think you've said enough. why don't we just switch to xfinity like everyone else? then you would know what year it was. i know what year it is. here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. they drove all over town

jandrea canning: they drove all over town that july day that july day in 2010. surveying the city and suburbs, looking for the perfect place to kill lorenzen wright. this, according to jimmy martin, who claimed he was in a cart with sherra wright and the fellow minister, billy turner. >> we went and checked out spots in memphis. they were picking out the spots. i was just telling whether. not >> you're getting a slot consulting fee? >> yeah. no, that's not a good. spot just morales. >> soon after that so scouting trip, sherra sent ren the first

of a flurry of text messages. ex reddit messages about hooking up in memphis. >> these are the mild messages, only group moronic and explicit. police found the checks on sherra's cell phone went ren missing. back then, they weren't sure of those messages might be connected to his case. now, seven years after the murder, the text seemed to tell a story. >> sherra lured him back to memphis with sexually explicit tax, messages. >> sure enough, ren took the bait. later texting sherra from the atlanta airport. little but life-changing words. with that, ren was on his way to memphis. according to a close friend might give some, he may have been seeking more than just out one night stand. recently, ren had confided he was ready to settle down after running in the fast lane after his divorce. >> he's, like you know, when all the stuff i'm doing with these girls, i'm tired of it. i might as well get back with

my wife, sherra, and be through with it. love the happy life. that's what he wanted. >> but sherra didn't want to marry lorenzen. he won -- she wanted him murdered, according to her cousin, jimmy martin. jimmy said two days after he, sherra, billy conducted that murder site survey, she came to his house in batesville, mississippi. while there, jimmy said that sherra asked his mom for an odd favor. >> she asked my mom for a metal detector. >> does your mom have a metal detector? >> yeah. >> with the metal detector in tow, the two return to memphis, picked up billy and drove to her house, where, said jimmy, sherra made a stunning announcement. >> we did it. it had to get done. i'm, like when you talk about? she's like, lauren's instead. >> and who actually fired the fatal shots? [sound of gunfire] jimmy said it was billy turner,

sherra's one time gardner, and now alleged gunman, who had to appear of having shooters remorse. >> he was, like man, and still shaking. my stomach hurt, i can't sleep. i can't do anything. but what happened during the last moments of lorenzen's life? before he was executed in that dark field? that night, according to jimmy, sherra told ren she needed to meet a man to pick up some money. ren agreed to join her. they drove to what it area at the edge of town. sherra got out and walked over to billy, who was secretly waiting nearby. >> as she said, runs in walked up and billy started shooting. >> and then what happened? >> he ran. they said they chase him down the woods. >> chased him down by following the glow of ren's cell phone, said jimmy, and kept firing. that's when ren called 9-1-1 and scream the last words of

his life. [inaudible] [sound of gunfire] >> and although shots were fired by billy, from two different guns, such a. make >> any shot at him, shot at him, shot at him. [sound of gunfire] >> did sherra ever tell you that she also chased lorenzen with billy? >> now. she said she ran up the road. when the first shot fired. >> jimmy? he insisted he was miles away at home it mississippi that night. >> jimmy martin never puts himself in the crime scene, which seems kind of odd. so, is he lying? you know, to distance themselves, make himself look better? >> but jimmy did admit to helping sherra and billy clean up the crime scene two days later before anyone realized lorenzen wright had gone missing. using his mom's metal detector, jimmy said the three of them look for leftover evidence, including one of the cheap

murder weapons, which meant missing during the shooting. but they never found, it said jimmy. so, he and billy took the handgun they still had to this little lake in mississippi. >> we were out there at the lake, little pond. he claimed them off. he threw them in the water. >> how many? >> he was just one gun. >> what kind? >> the 9 mm. >> and that, insisted jimmy martin, was the gods truth upheld memphis icon, lorenzen wright, was murdered and the crime covered up. all orchestrated by sherra. it was quite a story, but was there any evidence to back it up? well, maybe. the answer was sitting at the bottom of the lake.

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their hours top stories. house and senate leaders agreed to take up a single short term bill that extends the two

government funding deadline set early march. that bill needs to pass both chambers before midnight friday to avoid a shutdown. and john kerry stepping away from his post as president biden's top climate diplomat. after three years on that job. carrie will reportedly leave his job later this winter and join biden's reelection campaign. now back to dateline! back to dateline ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ walnut, mississippi. some 75 miles southeast of memphis, population, 800. outside of town is a little lake. a big pond really. the very same point that jimmy martin claimed helping key evidence in lorenzen wright's murder. [inaudible] >> high school football tale. >> on may, 2012, detectives had

it there for a fishing expedition. for a gun. jimmy said that billy turner had dumped it two days after shooting him. now two days later, was it still there? >> it is a murky lake, they could not find, it so the whole thing goes into limbo again. >> as damning a detail as jimmy martin's story saved, detectives did not have enough evidence to make an arrest. but still, the investigation plotted on for years. >> is it still being investigated actively? or just when new leaves come in? >> if we felt that one investigator took the case as far as they could take it, we would give them to another investigator to give the perspective, or put another fresh set of eyes on it. >> by 2060, some of those detectives who had been digging through the case file, and jimmy martins police interview urged the command at the memphis pd to take a second look at the case. they dubbed it operation

rebound. very hush hush. and one of the things that they did was go back to that murky lake in mississippi. >> they got some more information that made them more certain about this, and they said that a dive team went down, an fbi dive team. >> and guess what? five years after jimmy martin came forward. >> they find the gun! >> a nine millimeter handgun sitting in the muddy settlement. was it really the weapon that killed lorenzen wright? the gun was sent to the tennessee bureau investigation to see if it matched the ballistics collected at the crime scene. then a few weeks later. >> the ballistics linked to the murder. one of the two guns that were used at the scene. >> operation rebound was rolling, that investigators kept a tight lid on all of the new evidence for months. so -- was still in the dark as

she commemorated lorenzen's birthday. november the 4th. >> a day celebrating,'s attempt painful reminder for debbie. >> once again, she held a somber vigil to keep her son's name in the news, and the heat on the police. >> there is a hand on my heart, all the time. especially birthdays, christmas, july. always on my mind. >> lorenzen's mother knew nothing about the gun. or jimmy martin, or billy turner. >> i really need to help people. come on, tell us something. >> then, a food days later, police did tell deborah something. something amazing. >> the fbi helped to search the remote lake in mississippi, and found an alleged murder weapon. >> some seven long years after the murder, debra finally felt a step closer to getting justice for his son. >> thank you jesus. they found something. because we had not heard anything. >> and ren's close friends when i'm hopeful for the first time

in years. >> oh my god, we are on to something. >> are you thinking that this is just the beginning? it's gonna fall like dominoes? >> we got it. we got an fbi dive team who found it. so i said, okay, if they are involved and i know that they are on to somebody. >> there were so many questions. how did they find this gun all of a sudden? why now? who told them? whose gun is it? what does it have to do with cheryl right? >> when sheriff's ex-boyfriend saw the news, he called sherra in california. >> and she felt very somber about it. and yet she said, yeah i thought it. i don't think they found a gun, i think they are making it up to start some conversations. i think the police are making up that they found the gun, the murder weapon that killed lorenzen? she was like, what does it matter? he's not coming back anyways. and all my antennas went up

then. because you have to remember, i have been there for the speech is about, can't wait until they find and the person who killed lorenzen. all that was gone. >> sherra seem low-key on the phone with child, and but detectives were betting she would not stay that way for a long. in fact, just days after the news broke about the gun being found, sherra suddenly flew to memphis and met with billy. detectives were on their tail and snapped these surveillance shots. that's sherra in the black sweat suit. police watched, and waited, and let sherra and billy stew. >> the police were playing everybody, it was a brilliant strategy. they wanted to get that information out, to get more incriminating evidence from sherra and billy. they threw them into a panic, and got them talking about it. >> talking, which police

started taping by tapping sherra and belize phones. >> hello? >> what's up. >> hey, what it do? >> at first, the conversation did not seem to make sense. >> [inaudible] >> i don't know, when are you getting that rain? getting that ring? >> police eventually began to believe that all that small talk was related to the case. >> i wanted to show you something. >> okay, i hope you got that ring then. >> by late 2017, memphis police had heard enough and made their move. >> december 5th, billy turner arrested inside of a convenience store. >> and then we find out that he was her lawn man when he lorenzen was living with cheryl. so this is a person who know both of them, and then, we find out that he is a deacon at a church in cartersville. >> the very same church when

sherra had been a minister when she lived in memphis. >> she was under everybody's noses the whole time? >> how is that for a kicker? >> it is a kicker. it is an evil kicker. >> it is! it plans are being that she is the one who put everything in motion, then to be the one to actually take his life? yeah. yeah. just the ultimate evil. >> after years of nothing it hits us all at one time. and we started thinking, did she? did she actually? >> calvin also had plenty of questions about his former lover. so he and sherra spoke again. this time, police were listening to. >> how well do you know billy? >> billy has nothing to do with nobody or nothing. >> she was like, that is my church mate, that is my church deacon, that is my friend. he did not have anything to do with this. well i don't know what to tell

the whole world, because i'm not gonna get in it. i wanna let god do it. >> but it wasn't god who stepped in. it was the district attorney. >> the shelby grand jury indicted billy are turner for the first degree murder of lorenzen wright. >> but out in california, it sherra remained free. no arrest warrant, no indictments. just anger for the investigators. and they heard it. >> this is a lie from the pits of's --, they have been trying to pull billy into it before they can pull me into it. >> a dramatic moment years in the making was about to play out on a dark highway! brushed away. even a little blurry vision can distort things. and something serious may be behind those itchy eyes. up to 50% of people with graves'

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andrea canning: december 2017, more than seven years more than seven years after lorenzen's murder. billy turner was in court asking for bail. lorenzen's mother deborah was right there to give billy turn a piece of her mind. >> how could you have murdered my son? that is what i need to know. just how. >> the judge sent bail at $50 million. back in california, sherra seemed worried. >> this is a lie from the pits of [bleep], they're trying to put billy into it so they can pull me into it. >> they, of course, where the

police who were secretly listening in as sherra called friends and family to seek guidance or just bent. especially about belize arrest. but she kept denying any role in ren's murder. >> nobody believes we're still in love, but we have to care for each other, or they'll believe that. >> over and over, sherra insisted that she was in a sense. the investigation was a sham. >> it's just unbelievable, it's just a bad dream. >> then, just ten days before christmas, sherra was on the freeway and got a call from her older son. >> hey babe. >> mommy. >> he? >> what are you doing? >> suddenly, sherra notice something flashing in her rearview mirror. >> the police, he's like, right behind me. >> put the phone on the, don't you, -- >> i have to call you back! at the call you back! >> this was no routine traffic stop, it was the u.s. marshals. warrant in hand, arresting

sherra for murder. she was rushed to the riverside county jail, and the next day, memphis police told the world. >> she erupt right robinson was taken into custody last night in riverside, california, by the members of the u.s. marshal service. >> was her arrest a big moment in this? >> i didn't sleep when they got barely. when they got sherra, i stayed up has 12:00, and i never sleep that nate, never, but that was the first time i got some real sleep. when they got her. >> everybody was talking about it. it was all over the place. it was huge news in memphis. >> so huge that the next day, debra organize the celebration in the cemetery. >> there were no fireworks, so i had to have fireworks at the cemetery. >> never heard anything like that before. >> lorenzen had to hear the pal, pal, pal. we had a big celebration. we had a ball, sure did.

>> after years trying to get sherra arrested, deborah had just one question about her. >> one thing i would like to say too sherra, why? why? why? why? >> lorenzen's friends who knew that sherra had long been under suspicion, still had trouble about accepting her arrest. >> what do you mean? she got arrested for killing lorenzen. and i froze. i got really angry. for her to be able to evade police questioning, and some of the questionable interviews that she had done. for me to know that i defended her in public? because of the kids, the last thing that you want to do is they have already lost their father. i didn't want to think that their mother could have something to do with it. but for now, to find out that not only she had something to do with it, she could've been there. >> i imagine all of their emotions.

your feeling betrayal. and all the second guessing yourself. >> second guessing myself, yes. >> you know her better than most? >> yes, but sometimes what people do in the dark will come to light. >> sherra waived extradition, days later appeared in a memphis college. >> the bail should be set to cover this indictment at wally million dollars. >> so you see sherra in court and she says something to you? >> yes, she looked me dead into my face, like i'm looking into hers. and she said i did not do it. and i said you which! >> you called her a witch in court? >> without the w! you can't kill my son and his me, i did not do it. no. >> the juries and codefendants charge in the death in the murder of lorenzen wright filed motions on thursday. >> they pleaded not guilty. the plan was to try them together but the attorneys had a problem. >> we strongly believed that billy was going to testify against sherra. if the defense was, that had

nothing to do with it is particularly problematic when there is a codefendant who is going to testify. >> so, a strategy. her attorney said yes, she did conspire to have her ex husband murdered, but that in no way made her guilty. >> sherra did it, she recruited billy, but she did it to get away from an abusive relationship. >> that was the defenses version. sherra was an abused move woman, looking for a way out. >> there's two sides, there's the public persona, very positive, community oriented, privately he had a very tumultuous marriage. many affairs, and would get angry and beat sherra wright. >> in fact, sherra manchin abuse in a culture sun which police secretly recorded. >> you were there the last time when they beat the living -- at

a me. >> and there was a time when lorenzen got violent with sherra when he found it with another man. a story he denied. lorenzen was never charged again, or at any time while abusing sherra. >> it's very often that victims of domestic violence do not report their abusers to the police. >> by the time of the murder, ren and sherra, had been divorced for five months and living five months apart. her attorney said despite all of that, she was still scared. >> he was telling the children in the summer of 2010, words to the effect, your mother and i are going to get back together. and sherra did not want to go back to that life. >> according to her attorneys, sherra believed her only escape was to lure ren back to memphis to have him killed. but lorenzen's mother, debra, insist the story of abuse are all lies. >> she murdered him. she killed him twice.

i want her to suffer every day, when she wakes up and misses her kids like i miss mine. >> a battered wife or a killer? it looked like a memphis jury would have to decide. or would they? >> i got here thinking that it was going to help the trial, but they said wait a minute, they just blew me away! i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain,

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>> good morning. >> lorenzen's mother that worked so hard to push the case forward, couldn't wait to see her former daughter-in-law go on trial. >> how did you feel? were you confident? >> yes, i feel elated. it's just going to turn out how it's supposed to. all the aces will be in their places. that means everyone will be where they will need to be. >> july 25th, 2019. almost nine years to the day of ren's murder. his mother was in court when the justice system dealt her a hand that she had not anticipated. >> i got here thinking that they were going to have a trial, but then they called us into the room back there, and said wait a minute, we made a deal. it just blew me away! >> how do you play and guilty to the indictment on the seventh. >> sherra pleaded guilty not to first-degree murder, but to two lesser charles adjusts. facilitation to commit murder, and attempted murder. for the first trial in

lorenzen's condo in atlanta. lorenzen's mother was angry. >> how is this possible? i think i'm gonna come with everything that happened, step-by-step, but no. >> for that, ren's mother would have to wait until sherra's alleged coconspirator had at the trial. between covid and coat delays it had years. finally, march of 2022, belize trial began. >> what does it take to kill a man? >> though sherra wasn't the defendant, shelby county prosecutor put her front and center. >> sherra wright's not a professional killer. this is not something that she does. she does not have a phone directory of hitmen. now, she had to reach out to people that she trusted. >> do you solemnly swear or

affirm? >> darn lorenzen's mother was a first witness. she told the jury that when lorenzen went missing, sherra did not seem concerned at all. >> did you talk to sherra? >> oh yes. >> did she tell you that he was missing? >> no. >> [inaudible] >> no, she never did. no. i had to. >> but the star witness for the prosecution was sherra's witness, jimmy martin, who told the jury what he said to the police years earlier. that sherra wanted lorenzen dead. and she had turned to billy turner for help. >> sherra it's talking about this business that she should not be in. telling lorenzen? is billy turner there? >> yes sir. >> obviously [inaudible] and you described it as brainstorming? >> brainstorming, coming up with ways of how to basically perform the act. >> and what act are we talking

about? >> the murder of lorenzen wright. >> you say they were coming up with ways, you mean we? where you were to? >> yes. >> though he took part in the planning, even help to find the location, he said he was not there when that murder occurred. he said that sherra told him about it afterwards. >> so we met, and the reason that we met was two [inaudible] and i guess they ambushed him. >> you said you guess, why do you say you get? >> because i was not there. >> then, jimmy told the jury about lorenzen's all the final moments. he said the details came from sherra. >> they were next to him, they started chasing him, firing at him, chasing him. jumping the fence, he was jumping like a deer. they caught him. he fell. >> defense attorney, john perry, told the jury the state star witness, a convicted killer given immunity in this case should not be trusted.

>> it takes that type of a promise to sit up, and come up with a story, and as you're talking to the detectives, to say, they told me this. >> as far as the defense was concerned, it was more likely that jimmy martin shot lorenzen wright. >> on the night in question, nobody can validate your whereabouts? right? no one verified your whereabouts, correct? and all of a sudden, nobody is verified. >> i did not have them. >> that's right. >> the defense attorney pointed out that jimmy martin did not have an alibi, but his client, billy turner did. >> he went to a party, and went . >> the evidence is going to show clear as can be, billy had a well-established light. he was a man, he dated women, he took care of his responsibilities. he had fun. he went to church. >> billy, in my heart of hearts,

i don't believe that he knew what all day might have been contemplating doing. >> but prosecutors said that billy turner cell phone put him at the scene of the crime. >> germantown, 9-1-1. what is your meram urgency? >> there was that terrifying 9-1-1 call that lorenzen made when he was being shot. a expert testified that both billy writes cell phones and lorenzen's telephones pink in the same power at the same time. >> they were exactly over top and they -- >> the woman at the middle of it all, sherra wright was never called to testify. five and a half days after the trial began, the jury got the case. >> can you bring in the jury, please, sir? >> less than three hours later, they had a verdict! >> we the jury, find the defendant, guilty of first degree murder as charged and count one of the indictment. >> billy turner got life, plus 41 years. as for sherra? >> this court that's our

punishment at 30 years confinement. >> 30 years on paper. >> in the end, we wanted the earliest possible release for sherra. >> her defense said because had no critical record, she would most likely serve at that time. maybe even less. >> sherra we'll only be at worst, in her early 60s. and so, she can still be a grandmother to her grandchildren. and still love and act life. >> that is not fair. that is not fair. i do not understand. i want her to do a plea deal when lorenzen comes back, then she can get out. >> she is eligible for parole pretty quickly? >> pretty quickly. did she get what she deserved? i don't think that she did. if she is the ringleader responsible for this, at some point sherra it's going to get out of prison. and she's going to have chance

to go on with her life, lorenzen never had the opportunity. >> in fact, with all the trial delays, sherra was up for a parole hearing just two months after billy was convicted. >> i'm sorry for what i did him, i'm sorry because he's not here. and i did not want to ever, ever in my life be without him because he was the love of my life. i am asking today for your mercy. >> watching closely was lorenzen's mother with no mercy to spare. >> this is where really mad at her, because she is still acting like she had nothing to do with it. >> sherra did not get parole that they, she will try again in 2027. debra plans to be there. ♪ ♪ ♪ that way for, a 2023. lorenzen's old team at the university of members retired his jersey and its honor. >> let me tell you what

happened. i still think about all the stuff that sherra said about him. but when he retired that jersey, you saw members come out. >> this is a man who had helped his city. >> this is a man that took care of more families than you would ever imagine. he kept them in homes, houses. he paid bills, he kept their lips on. >> this boy was just loving, he just loved that site. he just had personality. if you were get to him, he was great to you. that was for sure. ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm craig melvin. and this is dateline! [inaudible] a recording of the killing. [inaudible] >> she shot him! >> captured by the killer herself! >> my jaw hit the floor. >> i heard the gunshot, and

then i