Thirty years ago, music legend Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was killed by her fan club’s president, Yolanda Saldívar. For the last three decades, Saldívar has served her life sentence in Texas.
Now 64, Saldívar has a petition for parole under review, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice online records. On Sunday, she is up for parole for the very first time.
According to a spokeswoman for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, her case will be voted on or around then, but there’s no exact date for the decision to be released.
Here’s everything you need to know about Selena, Saldívar and the parole process in Texas:
Born in 1971, Quintanilla-Pérez demonstrated an incredible vocal gift in childhood, fronting Selena y Los Dinos with her siblings A.B. and Suzette Quintanilla.
Her superstardom arrived in the early 1990s, with her unique blend of Tejano, pop, cumbia and other musical styles manifesting in huge hits like “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido,” “No Me Queda Mas” and “Tu Solo Tu.”
Known the world over as The Queen of Tejano, or even more simply just as Selena, she broke barriers for women in Latin music. She opened the floodgates for a new generation of contemporary artists of Latin descent who would go on to enjoy huge popularity with mainstream American audiences. She often sang in Spanish and spoke in English, reflecting a cross-cultural identity that resonated with listeners.
She won her first Grammy in 1994 for best Mexican/Mexican-American album for “Live,” becoming the first female Tejano artist to win the category. She was just 23 when she was killed the following year. But her legacy endures for Mexican Americans, Mexicans, Texans, Latinos and beyond.
Her posthumous English-language crossover album released a few months after her death, “Dreaming of You,” topped the Billboard 200, featuring hits like “I Could Fall in Love” and “Dreaming of You.” In 1997, a biographical film about her life, “Selena,” would quickly become a classic, further launching the career of lead Jennifer Lopez.
In 2017, she received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the time, according to a Hollywood Chamber of Commerce spokesperson, the crowd was the largest-ever for a Walk of Fame ceremony, breaking a 1998 record set by onlookers at the unveiling of the star for Mexican singer Vicente Fernández.
In 2021, she received a posthumous lifetime achievement award from the Grammys. There was no tribute.
Yolanda Saldívar, a former nurse, was the founder and president of Selena’s fan club. She was also a manager of Selena’s clothing boutiques, Selena Etc., but was fired in early 1995 after money was discovered missing.
On March 31, 1995, Selena went to Saldívar’s room at the Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, to pick up business records she needed for a tax filing, according to court testimony. A confrontation followed.
Selena was shot in the back with a .38-caliber revolver in the motel room, ran outside and collapsed in the lobby. She was rushed to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead about an hour later.
Motel employees testified Selena named “Yolanda” in “room 158” as her attacker.
“I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to kill anybody,” a sobbing Saldívar said during a 9-hour standoff with police, during which she held a gun to her head. She told police she had bought the .38-caliber revolver to kill herself.
The trial was moved to Houston because of heavy publicity.
Prosecutors contended that Saldívar shot the 23-year-old after the singer’s family suspected her of embezzling $30,000. The defense argued the gun went off accidentally.
On October 23, 1995, the jury convicted Saldívar of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years — beginning in 2025.
Saldívar did not face the death penalty because the crime contained none of the aggravating circumstances required under Texas law, such as a multiple murder or a murder committed during a robbery.
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