Yolanda Saldívar, a 64-year-old woman convicted of fatally shooting the “Queen of Tejano”, Selena Quintanilla-Perez, has been denied parole decades later. Saldívar is currently serving a life sentence at Patrick L. O’Daniel prison in Texas. A three-member panel of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles reviewed her case and determined she still posed a threat to the public.
The board said the nature of her crime showed “a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others.” Although denied this time, she will be eligible again in five years, and the parole board will conduct another review. The board will unlikely view her crime any differently, and for Yolanda Saldívar to be released in 2030.
The Fatal Shooting of Selena
On March 31, 1995, Yolanda Saldívar shot 23-year-old Selena at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas. Saldívar used a .38-caliber and shot her in the back. She made a run for it and ended up in the motel lobby before collapsing. Luckily, she was able to get out the words to name Saldívar as her attacker, specifying which room they were in. About an hour later, she was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Yolanda Saldívar sobbed during a nine-hour standoff with police, saying, “I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to kill anybody.” She was detained, taken to prison, and eventually transferred to Houston due to the publicity surrounding the case so she could receive a fair trial. During which she testified she had the revolver with the intent to kill herself, but the gun misfired.
Fans questioned Saldívar’s motive and what drove her to kill the “Queen of Tejano.” Some say jealousy, and others believe it was out of spite for being fired by the star’s family. Saldívar was the founder of Selena’s fan club and the manager of her clothing boutiques until March 1995, when money was discovered missing. After she was fired, she went to Selena’s motel room to confront her. The rest is history.
On October 23, 1995, Yolanda Saldívar was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. She has made the most of her time in prison. Saldívar got an associate’s degree in criminal justice and her paralegal license to assist in her case. She filed multiple conviction appeals, which were all denied. She also filed several civil rights complaints and helped other inmates do the same. According to her, she was mistreated by the state’s prison system. They allegedly held her in protective custody due to the nature of her case, essentially isolating her from everyone.
The Queen of Tejano
The pop star was weeks away from turning 24. She was taken far too young and at the start of her career. Her fans knew her as Selena, and she was one of the first Mexican-Americans to make it into mainstream music. She rose to fame in the 1980s and won her first Grammy in the early 1990s after a Tejano music boom. Some chart-breaking songs include “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “Como la Flor,” “Si una Vez,” and “Amor Prohibido.”
Before she was killed, she was successfully making her way into English-language pop with her album “Dreaming of You,” featuring a popular song, “I Could Fall in Love.” In 2021, she was honored at the Grammys once again and was awarded a posthumous lifetime achievement award.
Response to Yolanda Saldívar’s Parole Denial
The Mexican-American singer’s family and widower, Chris Pérez, expressed their appreciation to the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles for denying Yolanda Saldívar her freedom. They said, “While nothing can bring Selena back, this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and millions of fans around the world far too soon.”
In the same statement, they said, “We thank Selena’s fans for their unwavering support throughout the years. Your love has been a source of strength and healing. We will continue to celebrate Selena’s life, not the tragedy that took her from us, and we ask that all who cherish her do the same.”
