The other side

Submitted photo.

His photo was alongside the mug shots of his deceased brother, Emerson Wright, and his eldest brother, Franklin Wright, 55, who faces murder charges in Aiken County for the deaths of two area women and assault charges in Augusta for an attack on a woman there.

The youngest of Emma and James Wright's 14 children, Tyrone said he barely knew his older brother "Frank."

"He was in jail most of my life," he said.

Tyrone said his family is no stranger to tragedy and trouble, stipulating that he has siblings who have never been in the type of trouble he has faced in his life.

Tyrone Wright grew up with seven sisters and six brothers. Eleven are still living. His parents are both deceased.

One of those who has passed on is Emerson Wright, the man whose mug shot ran in the newspaper next to his own on Thursday. Emerson took his own life in 2005 while on the run from local law enforcement. They had a sister, Donna Wright, who went missing from their Beech Island home in 1989. She was never heard from again, he said.

Other siblings have died, but the most difficult blow to the family was the death of his mother in early 2005. Tyrone Wright was incarcerated at the Aiken County detention center when she passed away. He had been connected with Emerson and an area crime spree that included several burglaries in the area and an arson at Building, Surplus and Salvage.

He said he served eight months in jail and was sentenced to time served upon his guilty plea to grand larceny.

Tyrone Wright was linked to the Nov. 2003 arson in North Augusta, but he still claims no involvement, adding that he pleaded to put his criminal history behind him, which state arrest records show included arrests for everything from weapons charges to the 2003-04 burglaries.

When his mother died, he said his life began to change.

"She was a strong woman," he said. "We grew up in a spiritual home - they (his parents) hated everything we did."

By his own admission, Tyrone said a number of the men in the family got into trouble with the law, admitting both Franklin and Emerson Wright had problems.

Emerson killed himself the summer after his mother's death.

It was another pivotal moment for the youngest Wright son.

"I said 'It's too much, this life,'" he recalled. "It doesn't lead to anything."

He said he turned his life around and has been living in Colorado since his release from jail in 2007, where he has been taking classes at a Colorado university and has recently become engaged.

"I also got into mixed martial arts, and that has been going very well," he said. "I'm living a good life."

Tyrone has returned to Aiken County several times over the years, most recently for a family birthday celebration in early August.

The celebration was only days before the murders in Aiken and assault in Augusta were committed, he said.

"I thought our family for one time was going smooth," he said. "Frank was there, and it seemed like everything was going well."

He said he and his fiancé talked with Franklin Wright and everything seemed fine.

"I didn't even know about this situation until last week when I talked with my niece," he said.

"I thought, 'This is too big for us,'" he reflected. "We're pulling together, but to be even associated with a crime this big is ridiculous."

Franklin's arrest, he said, is hurtful.

"I want to feel for Frank, but at the same time, I couldn't take away from the innocent women hurt," he said mulling over his feelings. "I don't know what to do. I didn't know if I was sorry for him or ... I was looking at the woman and the video from the store and ..."

Tyrone said he wants to believe his brother didn't have anything to do with the crimes in Aiken but hasn't come to terms with how he really feels yet.

At this point, he said, he wants to speak for the family members in Aiken who are living in the shadows of the murder accusations.

In Colorado he can escape from that cloud. In Aiken, he said they can't.

Now, Tyrone said he tries to help those headed down the road he was traveling years ago.

"I want people to know that they have the ability to change. I am one of those persons who changed my lifestyle," he said.