The woman convicted of killing Tejano music legend Selena Quintanilla-Pérez has been denied parole and will continue serving a life sentence for fatally shooting the rising young singer at a Texas motel in 1995.
Yolanda Saldívar, 64, was up for parole for the first time since the killing of the singer, known to fans as simply Selena. One of the first Mexican American artists to break into the mainstream music scene, Selena shattered barriers for women in Latin music.
In the 1990s, Saldívar was a fan who became a close friend of Selena, eventually taking on a role as the president of the singer’s San Antonio fan club. Saldívar was later promoted to manager of Selena’s clothing boutique. However, she was fired in 1995 after Selena’s father discovered that Saldívar had been embezzling money from both the fan club and the boutiques. A few weeks later, Selena met with Saldívar at a motel to retrieve financial documents. It was during this meeting that Saldívar pulled out a gun and fatally shot Selena in the back as she attempted to flee. She was 23 years old and on the verge of crossing over into English-language pop superstardom when she was killed. The singer’s family and Chris Pérez, her widower, expressed gratitude to the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles.