It was 2003. Compton was different then, though maybe not as much as people like to pretend. In the early morning hours of September 14, a white SUV crawled through the streets. Inside were Yetunde Price and her boyfriend, Rolland Wormley. They weren't looking for trouble. They were just passing through. But in a neighborhood on edge due to gang volatility, a vehicle they didn't recognize looked like a threat.
That's when the gunfire started.
People often forget that before Venus and Serena were icons, they were sisters in a tight-knit family of five girls. Yetunde was the oldest. She was a nurse. She was a mother of three. She was the one who kept things grounded while her younger sisters were busy conquering the tennis world. When the news broke that the Serena Williams sister killer had opened fire on that SUV, the world of sports stopped spinning for a second. It wasn't just a headline; it was a localized tragedy that happened to involve the most famous family in America.
The Night Everything Changed in Compton
Robert Maxfield. That's the name. He was a member of the Southside Crips, and on that specific night, he was allegedly guarding a "trap house" or a gang hangout. When Yetunde’s SUV slowed down near the property, Maxfield opened fire with an assault rifle. He claimed later he thought it was a rival gang coming to do a drive-by.
He was wrong.
Price was struck in the back of the head. Wormley, who was driving, frantically sped away to a relative’s home nearby, but it was too late. Yetunde was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. She was only 31. Think about that for a second. At 31, Venus and Serena were in their athletic prime, but their big sister—their protector—was gone because of a split-second, paranoid decision by a man with a gun.
✨ Don't miss: Whitney Houston Wedding Dress: Why This 1992 Look Still Matters
Who Was Robert Maxfield?
The man identified as the Serena Williams sister killer wasn't caught immediately. It took time. It took witness testimony and a grueling legal process that dragged the Williams family through the mud of public scrutiny. Maxfield wasn't a mastermind; he was a foot soldier in a cycle of violence that Yetunde’s father, Richard Williams, had spent years trying to get his daughters away from.
The legal journey was a mess. The first two trials ended in mistrials because juries couldn't agree on the intent or the specific charges. It wasn't until 2006—three years after the shooting—that Maxfield finally pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. He didn't get life. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Honestly, the "no contest" plea is always a bitter pill for families. It’s a legal way of saying "I’m not admitting I did it, but you have enough to convict me." For Serena and Venus, it meant the man who took their sister's life wouldn't face a murder charge, but he was at least going away.
The 2018 Release and Serena's Reaction
Fast forward to 2018. Serena is in the middle of a tournament in San Jose. She’s a mother now. She’s married. She’s still the GOAT. Ten minutes before she is supposed to walk onto the court for a match against Johanna Konta, she checks her phone.
She sees that Robert Maxfield has been released from prison early for good behavior.
🔗 Read more: Finding the Perfect Donny Osmond Birthday Card: What Fans Often Get Wrong
She went out and played. She lost 6-1, 6-0. It was the worst defeat of her entire professional career. People who didn't know about the news were baffled. They thought she was injured or just having an "off" day. But she was grieving all over again. How do you play tennis when you just found out the Serena Williams sister killer is walking free while your sister has been in the ground for 15 years?
Serena spoke about it later with Time magazine. She was vulnerable. She talked about how hard it was to forgive. She’s a devout Jehovah’s Witness, and forgiveness is a massive part of her faith, but she admitted she wasn't there yet. It’s a very human moment. We expect these athletes to be superheroes, but news like that can level anyone.
Why This Case Still Haunts the Family
- Yetunde was the "core" of the family, often acting as their personal assistant and confidante.
- The shooting happened just blocks away from the courts where Venus and Serena learned to play.
- The perpetrator served only 12 years of a 15-year sentence.
- The Williams sisters eventually opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center in Compton to help victims of direct or indirect violence.
The center is probably the most important part of this whole story. Instead of just leaving Compton behind, they went back. They built something to help people who deal with the same trauma they did. It's not about tennis; it's about the fact that when someone is killed, the family is left with a hole that never really fills up.
Misconceptions About the Shooting
There are a lot of rumors. People like to speculate. You'll hear "theories" that it was a targeted hit or that Yetunde was involved in something she shouldn't have been. There is zero evidence for that. Law enforcement and witnesses largely agree it was a tragic case of mistaken identity.
The shooter thought he was protecting his "turf" from a rival gang. The SUV happened to be in the wrong place at the exactly wrong time. It’s a mundane kind of evil—the kind where a person with a gun makes a dumb assumption and ruins lives forever.
💡 You might also like: Martha Stewart Young Modeling: What Most People Get Wrong
The Trial Details You Might Not Know
The legal battle wasn't a slam dunk. The defense argued that Wormley, Yetunde's boyfriend, was the actual target or that his presence provoked the shooting. They tried to paint a picture of a "gang-infested" area where anyone driving through was fair game. It was a strategy designed to victim-blame, and it’s why those first two trials failed to reach a verdict.
Maxfield's defense team was effective at creating "reasonable doubt." However, the sheer volume of evidence regarding the weapon and the location of the shooter eventually made the manslaughter charge stick.
Actionable Insights for Understanding the Impact
When looking at the history of the Serena Williams sister killer, it’s vital to see the broader context of how high-profile families handle private grief. The Williams family didn't use their fame to demand an extra-judicial punishment; they let the system work, even when it felt like it was failing them.
- Look for the Yetunde Price Resource Center: If you want to see the legacy of this tragedy, look at the work being done in Compton today. They provide case management and community referrals for those impacted by violence.
- Study the 2018 Interview: Read Serena’s Time interview from 2018. It is a masterclass in how to discuss trauma and the difficulty of the "forgiveness" narrative that society often forces on victims.
- Understand the Legal Terms: Knowing the difference between "no contest" and "guilty" helps explain why the sentencing felt light to many observers. Maxfield didn't "beat the case," but he didn't receive the maximum possible penalty either.
The story of Yetunde Price isn't just a footnote in a sports biography. It’s a reminder that no amount of money or fame can insulate a family from the realities of where they came from. The man known as the Serena Williams sister killer is a name most have forgotten, but for the sisters, the impact of his actions is felt every single time they look at Yetunde's children or step onto a court in a city that gave them everything and took something irreplaceable away.
To truly understand this event, one must look past the court records and see the human cost. The Williams family continues to advocate for community safety and mental health support for those in similar situations. By supporting local initiatives that address the root causes of urban violence, the cycle that led to that 2003 shooting can be challenged effectively.