Kriti Mehrotra
ABC’s ’20/20: Mystery in Memphis’ is a two-hour special broadcast comprising the details of the murder of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright and how his ex-wife, Sherra Wright-Robinson, masterminded the whole thing. With new details, exclusive recordings, and one-on-one interviews with Lorenzen’s mother, Deborah Marion, and Kelvin Cowans, a journalist who dated Sherra, it also highlights the role Billy Ray Turner had to play in the slaying. On December 5, 2017, he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Lorenzen’s case, and yet, he has not been convicted of it. Curious to know more about where he is now? Here’s what we know.
Who Is Billy Ray Turner?
Billy Ray Turner only came into the spotlight for Lorenzen’s 2010 murder after he was arrested. Until that point, he was not even a possible suspect for it, not in any sense. It was only when, on November 9, 2019, a firearm that was believed to have been used in the killing was recovered from a Walnut, Mississippi, lake, that he was found to have a connection in the case. The weapon led the investigators straight to Billy, and less than a month later, he was indicted for first-degree murder. At that time of his arrest, he was working as a Shelby County landscaper and was also a church deacon at Mt. Olive No. 1 Missionary Baptist Church in Collierville, Tennessee.
Billy Ray Turner was held on a $1 million bond. The amount was this high because of the seriousness of the charge against him. And, as investigations continued and Sherra Wright-Robinson was also arrested, it turned out that the latter was the one who had proposed Lorenzen’s murder in the first place. She wanted her ex-husband gone, and so, she planned to hire two men to kill him at his home in Atlanta, Georgia. But, when that failed, she and Billy – whom she met while attending the same church in Tennessee – apparently conspired to kill Lorenzen themselves. Then, after it was all done, they dumped the gun into the lake so as to get rid of the evidence.
Where Is Billy Ray Turner Today?
Billy Ray Turner is currently behind bars at a local jail, where he is being held pending his trial. Originally, he was set to appear in court in September of 2019, but the hearing got recessed so that his defense attorneys could look into new evidence. By that point, Billy had already pleaded guilty to a gun charge in connection to Lorenzo’s murder, but, to this date, he has not admitted to any guilt relating to the homicide itself. And, if his team is to be believed, it will remain that way. Billy would rather face trial than plead guilty to anything else, maintaining that he had no hand in the murder itself.
Since then, both the defense and the prosecutors have been gathering expert witnesses to testify during the trial. Along with that, they are also examining other evidence and reports for fingerprints, handprints, or anything else that would help them in their case. Billy’s lead attorney says that he is confident that many of the witnesses who could be called upon to testify against his client won’t hurt his defense, as there is no concrete evidence against him, and apparently, that includes Sherra Wright. Billy Ray Turner has since made a series of court appearances, but his own trial is now scheduled to begin on October 26, 2020.
Read More: Where Is Sherra Wright-Robinson Now?
