Crime in Memphis, Tennessee: A Glimpse into Three Notorious Crimes

Memphis, Tennessee has been in the top of the "Most Dangerous Cities to Live" lists many different years. When you think of Memphis, the first thing besides Elvis that pops into the minds of people that aren't from the area is crime. Shows like "The First 48" and "The Real Policewomen of Memphis" showcase that the city does have crime. Since there are a lot of people who follow various cases, I have compiled three different notorious Memphis Crimes.

Lester Street Massacre

On March 2, 2008 one of the most brutal mass murders in Memphis's history occurred in the neighborhood of Binghampton. It is one of the widely talked about crimes at the international and national level in the past decade.

Binghampton is an area in Memphis characterized by high crime rates. Most only go through the area via Sam Cooper or Summer Ave on their ways to Midtown, and heading out to I-240.

The crime scene of the Lester Street Murders brought two dead children, four dead adults, and more children seriously to critically injured. The massacre is presumed to have been committed by Jesse Dotson, who was related to one of the adults murdered as well as the children. He is currently awaiting trial, but is said to have issued a confession. This crime was chronicled on A&E's "The First 48."

West Memphis Three

The West Memphis Three murders happened in West Memphis, Arkansas which is right across the bridge from Memphis. In 1993, three young boys were found hogtied, naked, and brutally murdered. The "West Memphis Three" were not actually the murdered boys. They are the convicted murderers, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin. All of the murderers were teenagers at the time of the murders and were convicted based on Jessie Misskelley's confession. However, Misskelley is said to have some mental health issues, and there's been lots of controversy over whether or not they are the perpetrators of the crime.

Damien Echols has been sentenced to death by legal injection, and to date appeals have been unsuccessful. For more information on the West Memphis Three, visit the reference from TruTv.

Lorenzen Wright

NBA star Lorenzen Wright was found dead in July of 2010 dead in a field in southeast Memphis. He went missing on July 19, 2010 - the same day a 911 call was made from his cell phone. He wasn't found until the following week. As this is a major NBA star, the murder is high profile on both the national and local level. There's an investigation ongoing at the time this article was written as to why the 911 call wasn't responded to at the time it was reported. More information on the murder can be found here.

As you can see, Memphis does have a lot of crime. These are three notorious cases in the area. If you are concerned about crime and you are coming to Memphis, you can check the Memphis area crime mapper prior to your trip to find out what has happened in the area you will be staying in.

References:

TruTv.com

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/memphis/index_1.html

Commercial Appeal

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/08/press-conference-scheduled-lester-street-murders-t/

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jul/31/wrights-mother-slams-gtown-police/