The story of the Williams family is usually told through the lens of gold medals, Grand Slam trophies, and absolute sporting dominance. But there’s a darker, much more painful chapter that stays tucked away behind the highlights. It centers on a warm September night in 2003. When people ask, was Serena Williams sister killed by Crips, they aren't just asking about a random act of violence. They’re asking about Yetunde Price. She was the oldest sister. The nurse. The mother of three. The woman who basically kept the family’s feet on the ground while Venus and Serena were busy conquering the world.
Getting to the truth of what happened in Compton that night requires looking past the headlines. It’s a story about mistaken identity, the heavy reality of gang territory, and a family that had to mourn in the brightest spotlight imaginable.
The Night Everything Changed in Compton
Yetunde Price wasn’t a tennis star, but she was the backbone. On September 14, 2003, she was sitting in the passenger seat of a white GMC Yukon. Her boyfriend, Rolland Wormley, was behind the wheel. They were driving through Compton, right near a suspected gang hangout—a "trap house"—on East Greenleaf Boulevard.
It was shortly after midnight.
Suddenly, gunfire erupted. Someone opened fire on the SUV with an assault rifle. Wormley, panicked and likely trying to save their lives, sped away to a relative's house nearby. He didn't realize at first that Yetunde had been hit in the back of the head. By the time they got her to a hospital, it was too late. She was 31.
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Was Serena Williams Sister Killed by Crips or a Rival Group?
The investigation moved fast, but the details were messy. The shooting took place in an area controlled by the Southside Crips. This is where the connection to the gang comes from. The shooter was identified as Robert Edward Maxfield, a member of the Southside Crips.
Maxfield wasn't necessarily hunting Yetunde Price. Honestly, it seems he didn't even know who was in the car. The prevailing theory from investigators and court testimony was that the gunmen were "guarding" the house and mistook the Yukon for a vehicle belonging to a rival gang. It was a tragic, split-second error.
Maxfield was eventually arrested. It took several trials—two mistrials, actually—before they finally got a conviction. In 2006, he pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. He didn't get life. He got 15 years.
The Reality of the Sentencing
Serena has been vocal about how hard it was to process the legal outcome. Maxfield was released early for good behavior in 2018. Serena actually found out he’d been paroled just minutes before a match. Imagine that. You're getting ready to play a world-class sport, and you get a notification that the man who shot your sister is walking free.
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She talked about it later with Vogue. She said she couldn't shake it. She struggled to forgive. "It was hard because all I think about is her kids," Serena said. Yetunde left behind three children who grew up without a mother because of a "misunderstanding" on a street corner.
Why This Still Matters Today
The Williams family grew up in Compton. Their father, Richard Williams, famously moved them there specifically to "toughen them up" and show them what hard work looked like. He wanted them to see the alternative to success. But the tragedy of Yetunde Price shows the double-edged sword of that environment.
Even when you make it out, the places you come from have a way of reaching back.
Key Facts About the Case:
- Location: 1100 block of East Greenleaf Boulevard, Compton.
- Weapon: AK-47 assault rifle.
- Conviction: Robert Maxfield, Southside Crip member, voluntary manslaughter.
- Impact: The Yetunde Price Resource Center was established in Compton to help victims of direct or indirect violence.
It’s easy to get lost in the "true crime" aspect of it. People want to know about the Crips, the guns, the drama. But for the Williams family, this wasn't a documentary. It was a Tuesday. It was a phone call that never ends.
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Navigating the Grief and Legacy
Venus and Serena didn't let the tragedy break them, but it changed their trajectory. You can see it in how they handle their business now. They don't just play tennis; they invest in communities. They opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center (YPRC) because they knew that other families in Compton didn't have the resources they had to heal.
The center provides trauma-informed programs and helps people navigate the very violence that took Yetunde. It’s a way of taking a question like "was Serena Williams sister killed by Crips" and turning the answer into something that actually helps the living.
What We Can Learn From the Tragedy
If you’re looking for a takeaway, it’s about the complexity of systemic violence. Yetunde wasn't involved in gangs. She was a nurse and a business owner. She was just in the wrong place at a time when tensions were high.
- Violence is rarely surgical. It’s messy and hits people who have nothing to do with the conflict.
- Healing isn't linear. Serena’s struggle with the shooter’s release years later shows that "closure" is often a myth.
- Legacy requires action. Turning pain into a resource center is how you keep a name alive.
The truth is, the Crips involvement was a localized reality of the neighborhood, but the loss was a global heartbreak for a family that seemed invincible. Yetunde Price wasn't just a headline or a statistic in a gang war; she was a sister who was loved deeply.
When you look back at the career of the Williams sisters, you have to acknowledge the scar that sits right in the middle of it. They didn't just win for themselves; they won for the sister who didn't get the chance to see them finish the journey.
Next Steps for Understanding the Legacy
To truly honor the memory of Yetunde Price beyond the sensationalist headlines, consider supporting or researching the work done by the Yetunde Price Resource Center. Understanding the impact of community-based healing in high-violence areas offers a much broader perspective than the crime details alone. You can also watch the film King Richard, which, while focused on the father, provides a visceral look at the environment the family navigated before and after their rise to fame. Keeping the focus on the victim’s life—rather than just the circumstances of her death—is the best way to respect the family’s ongoing journey.