Former NBA and University of Memphis player Lorenzen Wright died as a result of a gunshot wound and police were drawn to the area where his body was found by a 911 call placed more than a week before it was discovered, the Memphis Police Department said in a statement released on Thursday. The discovery of the body was part of coordinated -- albeit delayed -- effort by a handful of law enforcement agencies who gathered Wednesday morning, hours before their search uncovered Wright's remains.
"Through identification of dental records, the Shelby County Medical Examiner has officially identified the victim as that of Lorenzen Wright," Police Department lieutenant Alan Ruhl said in the news release. "The cause of death has been ruled as homicide by gunshot wound."
The release was the first in which authorities identified Wright, 34, as the body found in southeast Memphis Wednesday afternoon.
Wright was last seen by his ex-wife shortly before midnight on July 18, and family members filed a missing persons report on July 22. Police reportedly didn't originally suspect foul play until a 911 call taken by Germantown, Tenn., dispatcher during the early morning hours of July 19 -- when several gunshots could be heard -- was linked to Wright's cell phone.
Ruhl said police used that call to narrow the search territory.
"The Memphis Police Department will continue this investigation," Ruhl said. "As is done in every homicide investigation, investigators continue to work around the clock to bring justice to Mr. Wright and his family."
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Lets see if I've got this right! Lorenzen was shot approximately TWELVE times to the upper body! The cororner concludes death is from the bullet wounds! Huh? What an amazing finding / conclusion of how Lorenazen died. Mr. Coroner, anybody who gets shot 12 times, you can pretty much conclude death was the result.
Ha, no kidding! They're ruling it a homicide. What else could it be? Suicide??? Great police work there!
So why are you making fun of the coroner, because he ruled it a homicide? Should he leave the cause of death blank because morons are going to call it "great police work" if he puts the obvious cause of death? Did you ever think that he could have already been poisoned or overdosed and someone shot him to make it look like a homicide? I'm not saying that's what happened, but the coroner has to rule out those possibilities to help in the investigation. It's a good thing we don't have to rely on jackasses like you two for anything other than cleaning our windshields at redlights or we would be in trouble.
Where in this article does it say he was shot 12 times in the upper body? Are you holding back something about this crime? You know more than you say?
Mario,he could have said lead poisoning,12 shots is usually done just to make sure the job got done.
They list the death by gunshot wounds because thats what it is. Like someone else said, should they just leave it blank so idiots like you will speculate?
Was an investigation started on the original 911 call from Mr. Wright's cell phone where several shots were heard? Look's like the 911 operator missed one that night.
The 911 operator in this case is in another chartered city whose southern edge is approximately one mile from where Mr. Wright was found, inside the city limits of Memphis, probably picked up by a closer tower in Germantown and relayed there. The Memphis news broadcasts of that evening were stating he was shot twelve (12) times. I live about three miles from the location where he was found.
wow thats some lazy investigating. a week after 911 call reciever hears gun shot on the call someone responds? thats sad!
Maybe he died from lead poisoning and not the gunshots!
The reason for an autopsy are to determine the cause. Oftentimes what is obvious is not so obvious and in fact the person was killed in some other way than the "obvious cause of death." Probably of little importance to most readers, but it may become important in a murder investigation. Several years in ago in Philadelphia an individual was shot 18 times at close range with an UZI and was released from the hospital two weeks later. Save for one shot that nicked an artery and could have been fatal, the other shots hit soft tissue and were not life threatening.
Reminds me of reading about the hideous 1930's/40's style mafioso killings. What a morbid way to exit this world. Multiple gun shot wounds and being found in a pile of human flesh. Awful. RIP.
What happened to Lorenzen Wright is so "Typical of Memphis". Yes the 911 dispatcher dropped the ball. And its NOT the first time! Something smells here with this.Too many unexplained questions.The ex wife wasn't too upset.He was supposed to be taking the kids back to Atlanta. He talked to his teenaged daughter EVERY day.After 24 hours of unaccountability Make the call! He is known to carry large amounts of cash. Not alot of 7 foot tall men walking around here. We are just an "Overgrown Mayberry RFD."
One more thing. The section of barbed wire fence was cut down prior to the cops going thru there.That is what lead them to the body.Shot 12-15 times.The detectives want to determine if it is more than one gunman.My guess is he was lured to this location, robbed and he got off the 911 call just as he was about to be killed.His last move on this earth is why we have his body.Otherwise,if left to the Memphis Police Dept.he would just be missing and MPD could go back sleep.
The cops figured that out pretty quick. It was a murder. Well duh, he was shot 12-15 times. What else could it have been? A target shooter that missed his target 12-15 times, but hit Wright with every shot! Maybe he shot himself in non vital places 14 times, and made number 15 really count.
my con for the families and friends in this ruff time
THE WIFE LOOKS LIKE A POSSIBLE SUSPECT
Sad, RIP. condolences to the family
They concluded it was murder? Gee, what gave them the first clue, the twelve bullet holes in his body, the fact that the gun wasn't his, that it couldn't have been suicide because 1) It's pretty difficult to shoot yourself 12 times in areas that will cause instant death, 2) the fact they got finger prints off the gun from a left handed person and he was right handed, 3)There was no gun powder on the body from close contact, or 4) they didn;t find the gun that killed him at the scene? Good police work. And typical of when a Black person is shot and killed. How sad that people still act that way and it's the year 2010. When are we ever going to have brotherly love and care for all people in the world. Guess not in my lifetime.
Man it is so nice to see all these crime scene experts that are commenting on this story. I had no idea that the AOL community was full of such intelligence.
Of course it was a homicide. The medical examiner has to investigate and list a cause of death. What do you want her to write on the death certificate the word "Duh"?
Maybe some of you "experts" should put your education to work and get a job in the criminal justice field. I'm sure with all your knowledge you could eliminate crime all together.