anything. it s mind boggling. reporter: that would be sherra wright, ren s ex-wife. she was interviewed by investigators when he first went missing. i just need somebody the cost to say they heard anything from him. reporter: before ren s murder. there were mysterious gunmen showing up, gunmen with guns in their waistbands, knocking on doors, knocking on her door, looking for lorenzen. reporter: sherra said she was not sure who they were or what they want it. she also told police about the last time she saw ren, on the night he disappeared. she gave a statement that basically said, ren left in the middle of the night. he had been in her house? he had gotten there from atlanta sometime and deny. he leaves. reporter: sherra s timeline of lorenzen s last night at him arriving at her home around eight pm. she said ren later left around
sherra s one time gardner, and now alleged gunman, who had to appear of having shooters remorse. he was, like man, and still shaking. my stomach hurt, i can t sleep. i can t do anything. but what happened during the last moments of lorenzen s life? before he was executed in that dark field? that night, according to jimmy, sherra told ren she needed to meet a man to pick up some money. ren agreed to join her. they drove to what it area at the edge of town. sherra got out and walked over to billy, who was secretly waiting nearby. as she said, runs in walked up and billy started shooting. and then what happened? he ran. they said they chase him down the woods. chased him down by following the glow of ren s cell phone, said jimmy, and kept firing. that s when ren called 9-1-1 and scream the last words of
name, which is a classic drug scream where drug dealers come into money illicitly, like they won the lottery. reporter: deborah insist that it was not her son who so the cars but the guy who worked for him. in fact, ren was never charged with anything. but not that he was dead, the city buzzed with rumors that ren may have been the victim of a drug hit, especially given the way he was found in that field, executed. you had the take the drug very seriously, it was something that everybody was talking about? absolutely, famous people get killed and a drug rate, absolutely we had to make sure that we looked at everything. reporter: with his nba career done, the big paychecks had dried up, plus, those huge alimony and child support payments were due. police wondered if ren was desperate for money. could he have been dealing drugs to make some quick cash? so detective started
of a flurry of text messages. ex reddit messages about hooking up in memphis. these are the mild messages, only group moronic and explicit. police found the checks on sherra s cell phone went ren missing. back then, they weren t sure of those messages might be connected to his case. now, seven years after the murder, the text seemed to tell a story. sherra lured him back to memphis with sexually explicit tax, messages. sure enough, ren took the bait. later texting sherra from the atlanta airport. little but life-changing words. with that, ren was on his way to memphis. according to a close friend might give some, he may have been seeking more than just out one night stand. recently, ren had confided he was ready to settle down after running in the fast lane after his divorce. he s, like you know, when all the stuff i m doing with these girls, i m tired of it. i might as well get back with
reported that ren there and the man and also attacked sarah. she has marks on her face. he hit her, and the police arrested him, but she did not testify against him. lorenzen had a public image to uphold. she did not want to expose part of that. reporter: no charges were filed. in a newspaper, account ren denied harm s way for having a gun, but we spoke to a woman who was there who told us that she feared for service life. with the help of counseling, their tumultuous marriage somehow stayed intact, and and he does a seven, they even renewed their vows. everybody thought, now they re good again, sure enough, a few months passed by, no, the same thing is happening again. back to the? fighting back to the fighting. reporter: often, it was about money, sit close friend phil, especially when it came to sara spending. there were times when she would spend money and not tell him that she was spending money,