HOUSTON — 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, the state’s parole board announced Thursday.
Yolanda Saldívar, 64, was up for parole for the first time since the killing of the singer, known to fans simply as Selena. One of the first Mexican American artists to break into the mainstream music scene, Selena shattered barriers for women in Latin music. 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. “While nothing can bring Selena back, this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon,” they said in a statement posted on social media.
In explaining the decision to deny parole, the board stated that the panel found Saldívar continues to pose a threat to public safety. It also noted that the nature of the crime indicated “a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others.” Saldívar, who is serving her sentence in a Gatesville prison, will be eligible to be reviewed again for parole in 2030.
Saldívar founded Selena’s fan club and was the manager of the singer’s clothing boutiques, Selena Etc., until she was fired in early March 1995 after money was discovered missing. Selena, a Corpus Christi native, was shot in the back with a .38-caliber revolver at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi on March 31, 1995. She was able to run to the motel lobby, where she collapsed, and she was pronounced dead at a hospital an hour later.
Motel employees testified that 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 nine-hour standoff with police. She told officers she had bought the .38-caliber revolver to kill herself.
More than 50,000 people lined up to view Selena’s body the day before she was laid to rest in Seaside Memorial Park on April 3, 1995, just 13 days before her 24th birthday. Saldívar’s trial was moved to Houston because of the publicity surrounding the case. On October 23, 1995, a jury convicted Saldívar of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
While in prison, Saldívar, a former nurse, obtained her paralegal and associate degree in criminal justice. She has filed several civil rights complaints alleging mistreatment by the state’s prison system, according to court records, and she also helped other inmates file petitions. In court documents from 2016, Saldívar said she was being held in protective custody — meaning she was segregated from other inmates — because prison officials were concerned for her safety due to the “high profile” nature of her case. She filed several appeals of her conviction, but all were rejected.
Known as “the Queen of Tejano,” Selena rose to stardom and won a Grammy during a Tejano music boom in the early 1990s. Her hits included “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido,” “No Me Queda Mas” and “Tu Solo Tu.” 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.
“Dreaming of You,” her English-language crossover album released a few months after her death, topped the Billboard 200 and featured the hits “I Could Fall in Love” and “Dreaming of You.” Jennifer Lopez played the singer in the 1997 biopic “Selena.” The Grammys awarded Selena a posthumous lifetime achievement award in 2021.
In a statement following the parole board's decision, Selena's family expressed their ongoing commitment to preserving her legacy. They thanked fans for their support and reiterated, “Selena's legacy is one of love, music, and inspiration. She lived with joy, gave selflessly, and continues to uplift generations with her voice and her spirit.”
