After serving 12 years in prison, the man who killed Venus and Serena Williams‘ half-sister has been released.
Robert Maxfield was convicted of killing Yetunde Price in a drive-by shooting in 2003, and he was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for involuntary manslaughter in 2006. He was released three years early for good behavior, and will be on parole.
Maxfield, a former member of the Southside Crips gang, reportedly intended to kill Price’s boyfriend. However, Price was struck in the back of the head by the bullet of an AK-47 and died instantly; her boyfriend was unscathed. At the time of her death, Price was just 31 years old, and her three young children were sent to live with their grandmother.
Venus and Serena were very close to their half-sister, who served as their personal assistant when their tennis careers began to gain traction.
“I wasn’t going to speak today because it’s too hard for me to talk…” said Serena at Maxfield’s sentencing at Compton Superior Court. “This was unfair to our family, and our family has always been positive and we always try to help people.”
In 2016, Venus and Serena Williams opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center, which serves to help those affected by violence and trauma.