Kimesha Williams, older sister of NBA star Kawhi Leonard, has been sentenced to life in prison.

Kimesha Williams, the older sister of NBA star Kawhi Leonard, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the murder of 84-year-old Afaf Assad at the Pechanga Resort Casino in California in 2019. Williams, along with Candace Townsell, was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and elder abuse in February after a month-long trial.

On August 31, 2019, deputies from the Southwest Sheriff's Station were called to the four-star hotel and casino in Temecula to find Assad lying unconscious on the bathroom floor. She and her husband had entered the casino with a purse containing $1,000, but Assad went to the bathroom alone where Williams followed her, while Townsell acted as a lookout, at one point blocking a custodian from entering. No witnesses saw the attack on Assad, but a woman in a stall heard a 'thud' before Williams eventually left the bathroom and made a 'beeline' for the exit with Townsell.

Assad died four days later at a local hospital after being admitted with 'serious injuries.' Her bright pink purse went missing and was never found. Riverside County Senior Deputy District Attorney Marcus Garrett claimed during the trial that the purse had been ripped from Assad's arm, pointing to a 'deep laceration' where the strap had been on the elderly woman's body.

Prior to Assad's murder, Williams and Townsell were known to officials at the Pechanga Resort and other Inland Empire casinos. In 2015, Williams was permanently banned from Pechanga after stealing someone's wallet, and she was also permanently barred entry from the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon and the Yaamava Casino in Highland after 'ripping winning tickets' out of people's hands, according to Garrett's court filing.

Townsell had been banned from the Soboba Casino Resort near San Jacinto in 2017 for 90 days, following the disappearance of two purses, according to Garret's filing. She was then banned from Morongo Casino in 2018 after a shoving incident with her boyfriend.

Williams was previously convicted for another crime, involving attempted robbery, in Los Angeles County. Leonard was not present at his sister's sentencing on Friday.

Leonard, a two-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors, has three sisters other than Williams. His father, Mark Leonard, was shot and killed on January 18, 2008, at the Compton car wash he owned.