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GATESVILLE, Tx. () — 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.
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, known the world over as The Queen of Tejano, or even more simply just as Selena, 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.
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FILE – Suzette Quintanilla, center, sister of the late singer Selena Quintanilla, holds a replica of Selena’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as she poses with, from left, Selena’s husband Chris Perez, her brother A.B. Quintanilla III, and her parents Marcella Ofelia Samora and Abraham Quintanilla Jr. during a posthumous ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Nov. 3, 2017. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) -
FILE – A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the late singer Selena Quintanilla is pictured following a ceremony on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) -
FILE – A portrait of the late singer Selena Quintanilla is seen in the crowd following a posthumous star ceremony for Quintanilla on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
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.
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.
Since Saldívar was convicted of first-degree murder, if she is denied parole, Texas state law dictates that the next review can be done anywhere from one to five years from the date of the denial.
