A house that once belonged to former NBA player Lorenzen Wright burned to the ground Thursday afternoon in the Southwind neighborhood of East Memphis, turning a quiet golf-course community into a chaotic fire scene and dredging up memories of one of the citys most notorious tragedies.
The blaze ripped through the residence on Classic Drive, near the TPC Southwind golf course, gutting the home and damaging the one next door as firefighters scrambled to keep it from spreading. Crews battled the flames for hours, and one firefighter suffered a shoulder injury while working the scene.
The Shelby County Fire Department said the fire started at about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, and drew a massive response of 10 engine companies, eight from SCFD and two from the Memphis Fire Department, with roughly 55 firefighters on scene, according to Fox13 Memphis. The fire was not under control for about two and a half hours, and investigators stayed at the property afterward to work on determining the cause. Fox13 also reported the burned house had once been owned by Wright.
Connection to a high-profile 2010 killing
Wright was shot and killed in July 2010, and his body was later found in a remote field near the TPC Southwind area, as reported by Court TV. The killing gripped Memphis, the basketball world, and the legal fallout dragged on for years.
Court records show Wright's ex-wife pleaded guilty to facilitation of first-degree murder and received a 30-year sentence, while a co-defendant was convicted and later sentenced to life in prison, according to a Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals opinion filed by the court. Those prosecutions and appeals stretched over several years and remain the central legal chapter in the aftermath of Wright's death.
Investigation and neighborhood impact
Fire officials said the cause of Thursday's blaze was still under investigation and that the scene remained active into the evening, according to Fox13 Memphis. Authorities did not immediately release an estimate of damages or say whether the burned structure would be demolished, and they asked anyone with information to contact investigators.
The destruction of the house has renewed attention to Wright's case and the long-running legal fallout that followed his death. Officials said they will release additional details once fire investigators complete their on-scene work.
