Memphis-area police continued to search Thursday for clues into the death of former Tigers and Grizzlies star Lorenzen Wright. Wright's body was found in a wooded area of southeast Memphis, nine days after police received an emergency call from his cell phone, police told the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
While Wright's relatives have identified the body found Wednesday as his, The Associated Press reported Thursday that Memphis police have not confirmed the identity, but are treating the case surrounding the body discovered Wednesday as that of a homicide.
Wright, 34, who starred at the University of Memphis before launching a pro career that included a five-year stint with the hometown Grizzlies, was found in an area across the road from the TPC Southwind course.
Police said the road on which Wright was found – which ran through a wooded area, was a shortcut to the home of his mother, Deborah Marion, who arrived at the scene Wednesday along with hundreds of friends and fans, as word of his death spread.
The Commercial Appeal reported that Wright, the father of six children, aged 4 to 15, was supposed to drive his children to a northern Atlanta suburb, where he lived and where they would spend the rest of the summer with him.
Wright, who was known to carry large sums of cash, was reportedly carrying between $2,000 and $3,000 in large bills, a friend told the newspaper.
Wright had arrived unexpectedly in Memphis and had visited his children at his former wife's home in Collierville, Tenn., on July 18. He left early the next morning, marking the last time he was seen alive.
Four days later, Wright's family reported his disappearance to Collierville police.
Germantown (Tenn.) police reported they received a 911 call from Wright's cell phone in the early hours of July 19, the Commercial Appeal reported. The newspaper said the dispatched reported hearing a garbled male voice utter an expletive, then at least 10 gunshots.
According to the newspaper, the dispatcher asked if anyone could hear, but got no answer before the phone went dead. The dispatcher called back, but got no answer.
The Commercial Appeal reported that the 6-foot-11 Wright, the No. 7 overall pick of the Los Angeles Clippers in 1996, had finalized his divorce in January, and had been invited to training camp by two NBA teams. Wright was scheduled to fly to Israel last weekend to try out there, the newspaper reported.
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