Police Investigate Possible Homicide After Ex-NBAer Lorenzen Wright Found Dead; 911 Hangup May Be Key Clue

Police have begun investigating the death of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright as a homicide, according to the Detroit Free-Press.

Wright, whose body was discovered in southeast Memphis late on July 28th, had been missing July 19th. While early speculation had centered on the possibility that his gunshot wounds were self-inflicted, possibly motivated by Wright’s well-documented financial problems, the sheer number of wounds all but rules that possibility out. Indeed, Wright reportedly had as many as twelve gunshot wounds.

Police have recently come under scrutiny for not finding Wright’s body earlier. The police eventually found his body by following the lead from a 911 hangup they received the night of his disappearance. That brief call featured a male voice speaking an expletive, followed by the sound of at least ten gunshots, according to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. It’s not known who the phone the call was made from was registered to, but it was found on Wright’s person when police discovered his body on Wednesday. The 911 dispatcher reportedly called the phone back after receiving the hangup, but it’s not known whether the police followed up on it, before it came to their attention late Tuesday night.

Wright’s mother accompanied the police to the Collierville scene where her son’s body was found. She told reporters:

I wanted to see the last steps of my son, the last steps my son ever took. He was my first born child. I really wanted to see his last steps. [...] I was wondering how they would get a 6’11’’ guy inside of the fence.

Lorenzen Wright was 34-years-old at the time of his death.