Slain former NBA player's ex-wife arrested in connection to his murder

Sherra Wright-Robinson has been arrested for the murder of her ex-husband.

ByABC News
December 16, 2017, 2:03 PM

— -- The ex-wife of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright was arrested Friday night in connection to his 2010 murder, authorities said.

Sherra Wright-Robinson, 46, was taken into custody in California's Riverside County around 8:30 p.m. local time Friday. The Murrieta, California resident was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on a fugitive warrant for murder, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

She is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court at Riverside Hall of Justice on Monday, according to jail records.

Wright-Robinson's arrest comes more than seven years after her ex-husband's body was discovered in a field in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. The 34-year-old basketball star, who played for five NBA teams over 13 seasons from 1996 to 2009, was reported missing 10 days prior. Wright was shot multiple times and his body was severely decomposed, according to the Memphis Police Department. The Shelby County District Attorney's Office said in a press release Saturday that Wright was last seen alive on July 18, 2010 when he left Wright-Robinson's then-home in Tennessee. The next day, Wright called 911 on his cell phone, but the call was interrupted by gunfire, according to the press release.

PHOTO: Cleveland Cavaliers' Lorenzen Wright is picturedat the team's media day, Sept. 29, 2008, in Independence, Ohio.
Cleveland Cavaliers' Lorenzen Wright is picturedat the team's media day, Sept. 29, 2008, in Independence, Ohio.

There was a break in the unsolved case last month when police found a gun they say was used in the killing in a lake near Walnut, Mississippi, about 75 miles from Memphis. Then, on Dec. 5, Billy R. Turner was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in connection to Wright's death.

Turner, 46, is being held on $1 million bond. He has pleaded not guilty.

A new indictment, handed up Tuesday, charged Wright-Robinson and Turner with first-degree premeditated murder, attempted first-degree premeditated murder and a related conspiracy count, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office said.

At a press conference Saturday, Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings declined to provide specific details on what led to her arrest, but he said the weapon was key.

Rallings also wouldn't discuss the connection between Wright-Robinson and Turner, but he said investigators were confident they knew each other.

Assistant Chief Deputy D. Scott Wright of the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said at the press conference Saturday that they are working with authorities in California to have Wright-Robinson extradited back to Tennessee.