Police search home of Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife

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By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Police in Memphis spent much of Sunday in the home of slain former Atlanta Hawks player Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife, according to a television news station there.

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Lorenzen Wright was last seen in the early morning of July 19, right before he was to head back to his Atlanta townhouse with a friend and his six children. His family filed a missing person report July 22.

AJC File Lorenzen Wright was last seen in the early morning of July 19, right before he was to head back to his Atlanta townhouse with a friend and his six children. His family filed a missing person report July 22.

AP Wright's bullet-riddled body was found in woods in Memphis six days after his family reported him missing.

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Police were looking for evidence at Sherra Wright's home, according to ABC24-WPTY.

A website for the station, myeyewitnessnews.com, posted an article Sunday night saying Wright was in police custody "in connection with Wright's murder" but later deleted that passage. The article had attributed the information to unnamed sources.

Memphis police could not be reached for comment. But a competing Memphis news station, CBS affiliate News Channel 3, ran footage of Sherra Wright as a passenger in a van pulling into her driveway. She wouldn't speak to the TV reporter, but was obviously not in custody, the news station reported. The station did say "we know" police questioned Wright.

The myeyewitnessnews article said officers could be seen removing several items, and at one point, were in the backyard inspecting a grill and fire pit. Neighbors had reported a large fire in the backyard after Wright's disappearance, according to the article, and said they thought it was unusual for Wright to light a fire on one of the hottest nights of the year.

The bullet-riddled body of the 34-year-old athlete was found in woods in Memphis on Wednesday, six days after his family reported him missing.

He was last seen at about 2 a.m. July 19, leaving his ex-wife’s Whisperwood Drive home, The Commercial Appeal newspaper in Memphis reported last week. His family filed a missing person report July 22.

Days after the report was filed, Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife told police that about six weeks before the killing she was threatened at her home by three armed men, according to the Associated Press. Sherra Wright's lawyer told the AP that Wright reported the incident to police in the Memphis suburb of Collierville, near her home, on July 26.

The lawyer, Gail Mathes, told the AP that Wright had warned her ex-husband, the father of her children, about the visit by men dressed in sport coats with weapons tucked in their waistbands.

The Wrights finalized their divorce in January, according to the Commercial Appeal. The newspaper attributed that information to Lorenzen Wright's friend, Jeremy Orange, who also said the athlete was dealing with financial woes and a fractured thumb that ended his career. The newspaper reported that two homes owned by the couple had gone into foreclosure.

The 6-foot-11 Wright played 13 seasons in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and most recently the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2008-09 season. His best season as a Hawk was 2000-01, when he averaged 12.4 points and 7.5 rebounds. He is survived by four sons and two daughters, ages 4 to 15.