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Williams Sisters Skip Court

Building yourself up from almost nothing into one of the biggest names in women`s tennis ever is not an easy job. Doing it along side your sister, doesn`t seem at all plausible in the normal terms. However, the Williams sisters are far from normal athletes and have managed to make a huge name for themselves on the tennis courts and in the heart of the entertainment industry. The Williams sisters did not have an easy road to cross on their way to stardom and are even today dealing with one particular crisis, the murder of their sister.

The Los Angeles gang member who killed the half-sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams was allowed to cop a plea to manslaughter yesterday. The sisters, both who withdrew from a Miami tournament last week siting injuries, did not appear at the proceedings. Robert Maxfield, 25, fired an AK-47 assault rifle at the victim`s sports utility vehicle shortly before midnight on September 14, 2003, killing Yetunde Price as she and her boyfriend drove through Compton.

Deputy DA Hoon Chun said two juries couldn`t reach a verdict on murder because Maxfield could have believed gunfire was coming from the direction of Price`s car. "If somebody shoots at a car, believing even wrongly that the car is a threat to them, they`re entitled to a verdict of voluntary manslaughter." The killer, who pleaded no contest to the lesser charge, could be out on parole in eight years. He`s to be sentenced April 6. The father of the tennis stars, Richard Williams, was hard pressed to find any consolation in the outcome. "There`s nothing we can do," he said. "The damage has already been done."