by Lutece 17 Replies latest jw friends
I heard about it on the news this evening. Sad. onIy only heard that she was "guned down" while in the company of someone else who was no harmed. Something about the 2 were in a car or truck or something and she was shot several times. Weird.
Some people are just plain crazy.
This is very sad. This woman was just 31. My heart goes out to her family...
This is a sad story.
special k
Panda,
Why would someone shoot a nurse? Stupid people in this world.
Likely drugs or a relationship issue. It could be she was asked to obtain drugs from where she works ... Southern Californai is the drug capital of the world.
My friend and I read that story and he asked me this question....
quote: ok...those sisters make literaly millions of dollars..why the heck is their sister living in the slums???...
I explained to him maybe it's because the sister is not a JW? Or maybe an ex-JW? I explained that family members tend to shun members of their family (or families) that refuses to become a member of the JW religion (I know not all do that, but some do).
Either that, maybe it's the choice of the sister to live there???
Anyone have any better ideas or explainations?
Thanks
Yiz
I wish drugs were legalized. It's the greedy drug companies that keep people living this way. If drugs were legal they would be cheaper and not so glamorous to begin with... I don't know anyone who isn't tired of the supposed "drug war". I remember when Bill Cosby's son was shot because another friend wanted money for drugs and set him up to be robbed. People are stupid and sick and if I may quote *kick*
Yetunde did not live in Compton, she lived in Corona, a much nicer area relatively far from Compton. One of the big questions right now is why was she in Compton, especially at that hour.
It is sad, it is always sad when someone who (as far as we know) is the victim of a crime. There has been one arrest already, although the police suspect there were three shooters. I am sure we will learn more fairly quickly.
Happyout
Here's more detail on the family:
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| Sep. 21, 2003. 02:00 PM | ||||
Murder devastates Venus, Serena Chance both could exit pro tennis MARY ORMSBY SPORTS REPORTER And that gruelling work, ultimately, was their passport to global fame, dizzying personal wealth and stunning, sustained success in professional tennis. Venus and Serena Williams had left the crime-lined streets of the troubled Los Angeles suburb far behind them and had the gated mansions, MTV appearances and Grand Slam trophies to prove it. Or so they'd hoped. Never did they suspect that Compton would reach out one more time, clawing at them with such fury that the sisters' futures may change course because of it. In the early hours of last Sunday, the Williams' eldest sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered. Shot to death in Compton, the hell-hole the Williams clan left a decade ago. The 31-year-old registered nurse was reportedly sitting in a sport utility vehicle with her companion, Rolland Wormley, 28, outside a house where police say drugs are sold. Though an alleged gang member, Aaron Michael Hammer, has been charged with killing Price, other details of the case, such as why the divorced mother of three was 65 kilometres from her new home in Corona, remain unclear. What is clear, is just how devastated the Williams family is by the slaying. Serena, 21, received the dreadful news by phone while in Toronto, where she was filming an episode of a TV drama series called Street Time. Venus, 23, was tracked down in New York for Fashion Week. Both young women are so distraught at the violent death that neither has made a personal public statement about the woman they called "big sis." In a rare interview, the publicity-shy Price recently said how proud she was of Venus and Serena's maturity. "Maybe three or four years ago, I'd remind them to stay grounded, but not now," Price was quoted as saying in the Sept.15 issue of People magazine. "They've both got good heads on their shoulders." Though father Richard Williams was the obsessed, ambitious force behind Venus and Serena becoming tennis champions, there was also a deep bond within the women of the family. Price, Isha Price, 29, Lyndrea Price, 25 are the daughters of Oracene Price and the late Yusef A.K. Rasheed. Venus and Serena are the daughters of Oracene and Richard, who officially divorced last year (the three eldest daughters have taken their mother's maiden name). Even post-divorce, however, the siblings remain close to each other and their mother, often travelling together or at least speaking to each other by phone on a daily basis. "They don't consider themselves half-sisters, they regard themselves as sisters," said Raymone Bain, a publicist for Serena. "The five girls are each others' best friends." So now, the indelicate but obvious question — and one quite apart from solving the crime — is what impact Yetunde's murder will have on the tennis-playing sisters who loved her so dearly? Will Venus and Serena, both of whom are exploring other careers in fashion and acting even while they are so dominant in the game, want to continue competing? They both skipped this year's U.S. Open due to injuries but have been scheduled to compete in a few events before year's end. Venus was slated to play in Moscow later this month and in Filderstadt, Germany, on Oct. 6. Serena is to play in Linz, Austria, on Oct. 20. Both were expected at the tournament in Philadelphia on Oct.27 and the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles on Nov.3. All of that is now on hold. Yet even before the murder, the women were dropping hints that their interest in the game was waning. "I'm an actress, I'm a model and an athlete. I put athlete third on my list," Serena said in April. As for the more subdued Venus, she is far removed from the high-octane, celebrity life Serena has embraced. She is studying interior design and is marketing her own line of women's clothing. Richard has suggested that Venus may soon quit tennis and although Oracene has admitted that Venus gets bored easily, the world's No.6-ranked player has made no pronouncement that her retirement is nigh. Still, the loss of Yetunde upsets the balance of this extraordinarily close family, one in which jealousy of Venus and Serena was never an issue. And that could be because Richard's master plan to raise his girls from poverty through tennis gave all five daughters the same opportunity to excel at the game. The story goes that the father decided his children would be tennis stars after he saw television footage of a middle-of-the-road player named Virginia Ruzici receiving a $30,000 cheque for winning a tournament. After striking out with the first three girls, none of whom cared for the sport, Richard said he expanded his pool of potential champs by hiding Oracene's birth control pills (so he has claimed) and producing Venus and Serena. The youngest girls played on local public courts in Compton, ducking when they heard gunfire and giving gangs a wide berth as they honed their skills. Yetunde, many of her friends have said, revelled in the achievements of Venus and Serena. By all accounts, she never envied their celebrity and refused to take gifts of money from them. Indeed, the single mother who was also a part owner of a hair salon would even pay for her own airline tickets to tournaments to watch her baby sisters compete. Only recently did she accept a part-time job as a personal assistant to Venus and Serena. However, her influence on the youngest daughters went far beyond booking appointments and returning phone calls. Yetunde's diligence in pursuing education and her devotion to religion set a fine example; Isha is a lawyer and a singer; Lyndrea is an actress and a singer while Venus and Serena worked hard to finish high school by correspondence. Even after Venus and Serena moved to Florida with their parents a decade ago to pursue pro careers, they maintained a devout interest as Jehovah's Witnesses, also shared by Yetunde, which was particularly evident when the tennis players were in their teens and often discussed their spiritual side. And it is that spiritual side the shattered family will call upon before life resumes any form of normalcy, with or without tennis. "It was Yetunde who provided the stability to our family,'' the Williams family said in a written statement last week. "She was our nucleus, our rock. She was a personal assistant, confidante and adviser to her sisters and her death leaves a void that can never be filled." WITH FILES FROM STAR WIRE SERVICES |
