Bombshell statement from key informant details Lorenzen Wright murder plot

Sherra Wright's appearance in court was brief, but Billy Turner's bond hearing led to fireworks in the courtroom and a $15 million bond.

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Both suspects are charged in the murder of former NBA and University of Memphis basketball star Lorenzen Wright.

Shortly after walking into the courtroom, Sherra Wright's attorneys asked for her bond hearing date to be moved.

Billy Turner's attorneys were given the option to move their bond hearing, but they opted to proceed.

Three people -- a friend and two family members -- testified as character witnesses for Turner.

Prosecutors submitted affidavits and judgment sheets from Billy Turner's seven previous convictions, before turning to a statement provided by an informant.

The informant is Jimmie Martin, who prosecutors said is Sherra Wright's cousin.

Martin was convicted in the murder of his girlfriend in 2012. He is currently serving 20 years in prison.

He claims to be the third co-conspirator in the murder. Prosecutors said that Martin flipped on Sherra Wright and Billy Turner and told homicide detectives he had information related to Lorenzen's killing.

In the statement, Martin claimed he was at a meeting when Wright and Turner planned the murder. He claims he went to Atlanta with Turner, where they planned to kill Lorenzen in his Georgia home.

The statement said the men climbed through a window that Sherra Wright left unlocked, but they did not go through with the killing because someone else was in the house.

Martin claims Sherra Wright lured Lorenzen back to Memphis with sexual texts the day before he was killed.

Days later, Jimmie Martin said he went to the alleged murder scene with Wright and Turner to find the gun they dropped, along with shell casings, and help clean up the crime scene.

Martin told investigators he and Billy Turner then drove to Mississippi, where Turner threw the gun in a rural lake.

In November 2017, investigators found the alleged murder weapon in a lake in Walls, Miss. Prosecutors said Jimmie Martin led law enforcement to that lake.

Prosecutors also said they have evidence from a wiretap and physical surveillance.

Billy Turner's attorneys asked for bond to be set at $150,000. The prosecution asked for a $10 million bond.

Ultimately, the judge opted to set Turner's bond at $15 million.

Cox Media Group