Death penalty won't be pursued against NBA player Lorenzen Wright's accused killers

The death penalty won't be pursued against the accused killers of NBA player Lorenzen Wright, who include his former wife, prosecutors said today.

Wright's ex-wife, Sherra Wright, is accused of conspiring with Billy Turner to fatally shoot the 34-year-old basketball player in July 2010, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office in Tennessee said.

The pair made their first joint appearance in court this morning and are set to return to court next month.

Lorenzen and Sherra Wright had filed for divorce in May 2009, according to Shelby County courts.

Lorenzen Wright, a Memphis native, was last seen alive leaving his ex-wife's home in Collierville, Tennessee, on July 18, 2010, the district attorney's office said. Early the next morning, a 911 call was made from his cellphone, but the call was interrupted by the sound of gunfire, the district attorney's office said.

A little more than a week later, on July 28, 2010, the NBA player's body was found in a field, shot several times, the district attorney's office said.

The case went unsolved for years.

Then last November, the alleged murder weapon was found in a lake near Walnut, Mississippi, prosecutors said.

Turner was arrested first, indicted Dec. 5, 2017, on first-degree murder charges.

Sherra Wright's arrest and additional charges for Turner were announced by the district attorney's office later that month: They were both indicted by a Shelby County grand jury on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

They have pleaded not guilty, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Lorenzen Wright played for five teams including the Memphis Grizzlies over 13 seasons, according to The Associated Press.