Kawhi Leonard’s sister has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 2019 killing of an elderly woman.
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Kimesha Williams,39, received her sentence on Friday, and her accomplice, Candace Townsell,42, received the same sentence. In February, the women were convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and elder abuse. According to the New York Post, the pair followed 84-year-old Afaf Assad to a bathroom at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California.
Townsell stood to watch over the door, keeping everyone out—including a custodian—while Williams entered the restroom. Before Williams and Townsell fled the room, a witness stated she heard a thud in the bathroom at the same time as the victim and Williams. When Assad was discovered in the restroom, her head was bleeding, and her pocketbook, which had $1,000 for gambling, was gone.
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Assad died four days later at a local hospital. In her victim impact statement, her daughter said her mother’s case was a “long and painful journey” dealing with the criminal justice system as her father is now without his wife and feels isolated.
“I still can’t believe my mother was the victim of a violent crime. … Part of me died in that hospital room with her. My father is without his wife and partner and is isolated and alone in a way we cannot begin to understand … We seek not vengeance but there needs to be a reckoning for their heinous act.”
William apologized for her actions during the court hearing and said she’s been praying for the family since Assad’s death but maintained she was not responsible for it.
“I have been praying for you and your family every day. I am not responsible for the death of Mrs. Assad. Although the courts have found me guilty of the charges, we all know the truth, and that there is one judge, and that is God, and that he knows the truth.”
Kawhi Leonard did not release a statement about the case as he’s kept himself distant from his sister and the incident. Twitter users also made memes about his stance after it was reported about William’s sentencing.