MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Could a 9-1-1 tape hold the key to solving a high profile Memphis murder? The mother of NBA player Lorenzen Wright hopes so. Wright was gunned down almost three years ago in southeast Memphis, and called 9-1-1 just moments before he died.
Only on ABC 24, Senior Investigator Jeni Diprizio has the tape - and she sat down with Wright's mother to discuss the recording and where her son's murder case stands now.
Lorenzen Wright's mother, Deborah Marion, has ovarian cancer. She wants this case solved while she is still alive. She also wants the public to hear her son's call for help.
"I want everyone to hear it because I want them to know he was calling for help and it was ignored," she said.
In the call, you can hear the rapid fire of gunshots, one after another.
The call was routed to the Germantown 9-1-1 center. Wright called from Memphis near the Germantown border. Once operators realized the call was outside their jurisdiction, Marion says workers essentially dropped the ball.
"That was a prominent Memphian that took care of people and they just let it fall by the wayside," Marion stated.
Nine days later, Wright's body was found in a field.
"We might not have saved his life but we might could have gotten some evidence."
The operator can be heard saying it sounded like gunshots in the call, but Germantown 9-1-1 later said it could have been fireworks.
What should the operators have done? And could a consolidated 9-1-1 system have prevented this?
Monday night on ABC 24's 10 at 10, Jeni Diprizio digs much deeper into this story.
