The woman responsible for the death of singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez has received a decision regarding her future, just before the 30th anniversary of the tragic event.
Yolanda Saldívar, now 64, has been incarcerated for three decades following her conviction for first-degree murder.
In 1995, Saldívar shot Quintanilla-Perez in the back at a Days Inn hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, after being accused of embezzling funds from the singer’s fan club.
Saldívar, who has made various claims about the day of the shooting, currently serves a life sentence at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville.
She filed a petition seeking parole, and the outcome of her request was revealed at a hearing held this week (27 March).
Selena, an American artist, gained widespread recognition for her contributions to both Spanish and English music before her life was cut short by Saldívar, who was the president of her fan club, on March 31.
Tragically, Quintanilla Pérez was only 23 when she was killed. She had earned the title ‘Queen of Tejano Music’ due to her successful blend of Mexican and American musical influences.
Saldívar became part of Selena’s fan club in 1991, after being appointed by Quintanilla Pérez’s father and manager, Abraham Quintanilla Jr. She was later promoted to manage the singer’s boutiques in January 1994.
After complaints emerged about her management, Quintanilla Jr. discovered Saldívar had embezzled $60,000. When confronted at a hotel in Corpus Christi, Saldívar shot the singer in the back with a .38 special revolver.
Quintanilla Pérez was pronounced dead at Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital less than two hours later.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice documents indicate that Saldívar’s parole request, heard on Thursday (27 March), was denied due to the nature of her crime.
The documents highlighted that her offense involved ‘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’.
Despite this, Saldívar has the opportunity to seek parole again in 2030.
Carlos Valdez, the former Nueces County District Attorney who prosecuted Saldívar, maintains that she remains a threat to public safety.
“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 believe, I really believe, that the safest for Yolanda would probably be where she is.”
Saldívar, who has faced numerous threats since being imprisoned, is kept in protective custody due to the risk to her life. She spends most of her time isolated in her cell.
In a 2018 interview with Univision’s Primer Impacto, Selena’s father commented (translated from Spanish): “To this day, we still receive letters from women who are in the same prison where they say they are waiting for her.
“That they are going to kill her. There are bad women in there. Women who have murdered other people in the past. That is why they are in there. They have nothing to lose.”