Woman who killed pop star Selena learns fate in prison 30 years after murder
The individual who fired a fatal shot at musician Selena Quintanilla-Perez has received her verdict, mere days before the thirty-year mark of her offense.** Yolanda Saldívar, aged 64, has spent 30 years in prison after receiving a first-degree murder conviction. During 1995, Saldívar fired at Quintanilla-Perez's back at a Corpus Christi Days Inn hotel in Texas, following an alleged confrontation about stealing funds from the musician's fan club. Saldívar, who has offered various accounts about the day she killed the performer, now serves a life term at Gatesville's Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit. She filed a parole request seeking freedom, and officials held a session revealing its result this week (March 27).
The American performer Selena gained recognition for her musical work in both Spanish and English languages before Saldívar, who ran her fan club, took her life on March 31. Tragically, Quintanilla Pérez died at just 23 years old, having earned the title 'Queen of Tejano Music' through her rise to fame blending Mexican and American influences.
Saldívar became part of the fan club in 1991 after Quintanilla Pérez's father and manager, Abraham Quintanilla Jr, appointed her, and later promoted her to boutique manager in January 1994. After receiving many complaints about her management approach, Quintanilla Jr discovered Saldívar had stolen $60,000 from the club. When questioned at a Corpus Christi hotel, Saldívar shot the performer in the back using a .38 special revolver. Doctors pronounced her dead at Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital less than two hours afterward.
Due to these actions, officials denied Saldívar's Thursday (March 27) parole hearing, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice papers. The document stated her crime showed "elements of brutality, violence, assaultive behavior or conscious selection of victim's vulnerability indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others, such that the offender poses a continuing threat to public safety."
Saldívar may apply for parole again in 2030 when her case becomes eligible for review. Carlos Valdez, a former Nueces County District Attorney who led the case against Saldívar, believes she remains a danger to society. "Lord knows what will happen if she is released," Valdez told KHOU11. "Based on what I've seen so far, I think it would be a serious mistake to grant her parole."
"I think, I truly think, that the most secure place for Yolanda would likely be her current location." Regarding her protection in jail, Saldívar has encountered numerous death threats for killing the musician, and money has been offered for her harm, which explains why she remains in protective custody and reportedly spends most time isolated in her cell. During a 2018 conversation with Univision's Primer Impacto, the vocalist's father stated (translated from Spanish): "Even today, we continue to get letters from female inmates at the same correctional facility who say they are anticipating her arrival. They claim they will end her life. Dangerous women reside there. Women who have previously killed other individuals. That explains their imprisonment. They have zero consequences to fear."
