At least two gunmen fired at the car carrying the slain sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, with one bullet fatally striking the woman in the head, officials said yesterday.
Yetunde Price, 31, died of the single gunshot wound early Sunday after she cruised through Compton, the family’s hometown, with a man, according to Lt. David Smith of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Prosecutors have charged Aaron Michael Hammer, 24, of Compton, with murder.
Friends of the suspect insist Hammer didn’t shoot Price, and cops admit that at least two people fired at Price’s car shortly after midnight. Investigators are still running ballistic tests to see if Hammer fired the fatal shot.
“This isn’t going to be easy. This won’t be one of those two-day cases,” said county Sheriff’s Capt. Frank Merriman. “We have a lot to follow up on.”
Deputies are looking for two or three more accomplices to the Sunday morning murder. The suspect’s uncle, Dale Nelson, said authorities are trying to squeeze Hammer, and he wants to squeal.
“They [investigators] told me straight out he’s [Hammer] not the shooter,” said Nelson. “They said that he either starts talking or takes the fall for everything. Aaron wants to talk.
“He just wants to have an attorney present to make sure he doesn’t get confused or what he says get twisted.”
Prosecutors are set to arraign Hammer on Tuesday, and he is being held without bail.
Heartbroken family members yesterday had not finalized funeral plans for Price, a nurse who also worked as a personal assistant to Venus and Serena.
“They [the Williams family] are not doing well,” said family lawyer Keven Davis. “This is still a shock to everyone.”
The victim left behind three children, ages 5, 9 and 11. Price and her cousin lived in a single-family home in Corona, Calif., about 41 miles east from where the shooting took place.
The house is now virtually empty, although flowers from a memorial to Price remain on her living-room mantle.
A neighbor said Price didn’t employ a nanny, and spent almost all of her time with the children.
“I have known her for a year and she was always with her children,” Imelda Moreno, a grandmother and next-door neighbor of Price.
“I’ve never seen men or anyone else around. It’s her, her cousin and her children. She was a very careful mother.”