Lorenzen Wright Body Found Dead: A Reflection of Crime in Memphis,Tennessee

Lorenzen Wright's body was found dead behind an apartment complex in Southeast Memphis. Once again, Lorenzen Wright's murder brings up the reality of crime in the Memphis, Tennessee area. Perhaps living very close to the city makes me a little numb to the atrocities that occur each and every day; however, the death of the NBA star is enough to make even the most hardened of Memphians think hard.

You see, the area where Lorenzen Wright's body was found was near Hacks Cross and Winchester - a stone's throw away from Germantown, one of the city's higher income suburbs. It's an area that I have gone to a handful of times during the five years I have been either working or living near the city and it's not an area that made me particularly fearful.

Had Lorenzen Wright's body been found around the Airport, near Graceland, Raleigh, Orange Mound or in Frayser - I wouldn't have reflected much on the incident. As an NBA star, someone who had considerable wealth, and someone who had been in the area previously Wright should have known better than to go to those areas. But southeast Memphis? Near Hacks Cross? That's not a terrible area.

Let me paint a picture for you. Near the corner of Hacks Cross and Winchester in Memphis, Tennessee there is an Olive Garden, TGI Friday's, Target, Best Buy, standalone JC Penney's and a host of Restaurants. Not too far from there is a Wal-Mart/Sams Club area. TN-385 overpasses the intersection, and the sight of cars heading southeast towards Collierville, another wealthier suburb in the area, can be seen.

A review of the Memphis Area Crime Mapper detailed that in a half-mile radius, only the following crimes occurred during the past 30 days: 5 domestic violence incidents, 6 misdemeanor shoplifting charges, 1 motor vehicle theft, 1 business robbery. There were no aggravated assaults, burglary (residential), homicides (clearly not updated for the Lorenzen Wright case yet), narcotics, or rape. If you are living in a rural area, this sounds like a lot. It's not for Memphis.

It just goes to show you that you can never be too careful, especially while in Memphis. While the city gets a lot of bad press, it's easy to get distracted from the crime problem when you are here each and every day.

Finding the body of Lorenzen Wright dead in a field in Southeast Memphis is tragic first and foremost for his family and friends. It's also tragic for a city who embraced his athletic talent, and the institution, the NBA, which made his career possible.

Source:

WREG-TV: Lorenzen Wright: Body of Wright found in Field

Memphis Area Crime Mapper interactive tool