The mother of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright shouted at the man accused of murdering her son during a court hearing.
The outburst came during an arraignment for Billy Turner, 46, who is accused of killing Wright in Memphis, Tennessee, when Deborah Marion shouted: ‘How could you have murdered my son?’
Judge Lee Coffee told Shelby County Criminal Court he wouldn’t hold Marion, who wore a sweater with her son’s face on it, on contempt of court charges, but said that she could not cause further interruptions.
‘You have to be respectful of the judicial system,’ Coffee said. The judge also stated that while he sympathized with her, having also lost a loved one to a murder, he engage in an outburst like that’.
Wright’s mother shouted at her son’s across the courtroom at an arraignment hearing
Billy Turner is accused of Wright’s killing in 2010. He was arrested on Tuesday and is pictured above in court today
Wright’s body was found in July of 2010 in a swampy field outside of Memphis. The 34-year-old had been shot multiple times.
Turner is being held on $1 million bail. He has not entered a plea.
Father-of-six Wright was last seen alive leaving the home of his ex-wife on July 18, 2010.
His ex-wife told police he left the home carrying money and drugs.
She also claimed she overheard her Wright telling someone that he was going to ‘flip something for $110,000,’ on the phone.
Wright played 14 seasons in the NBA for five different teams, retiring in 2009
On July 19, 2010, authorities received a 911 call from Wright’s cell phone – before the call was dropped, the dispatcher heard what sounded like gunshots.
Dispatchers didn’t alert police because they weren’t sure it came from their jurisdiction. Wright’s mother filed a missing person’s report on July 22.
Wright’s body was found badly decomposed with bullet fragments lodged in his skull, chest, and right arm.
Turner, 46, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with Wright’s death
Turner was placed under arrest for the murder at Collierville Express Mart
Turner was arrested in connection with the crime on Tuesday at the Collierville Express Mart on U.S. 72 and his detention was caught on surveillance footage.
He has prior convictions for theft, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, attempted aggravated assault, attempted kidnapping, a cocaine charge and burglary. Turner was also a deacon at Mount Olivet No. 1 Missionary Baptist Church
Wright played in the NBA for 14 seasons with five different teams and retired in 2009. He played college basketball at the University of Memphis, and was a first round pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. He averaged eight points per game in his NBA career.