Selena Quintanilla’s killer applies for parole nearly 30 years after fatally shooting Latin star
Selena Quintanilla-PérezYolanda Saldívar, the killer, has applied for parole nearly 30 years after she shot and killed the Latino pop star in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 31, 1995.
According to a representative of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Saldivar, 64, is currently in the process of parole review. Her eligibility date is March 30, 2025.
Saldívar, who was a close friend of the late star and president of her fan club, allegedly killed Quintanilla-Pérez after her friend discovered she embezzled a reported $30,000 from her clothing boutiques. Saldivar continues to deny that he ever stole from Quintanilla-Pérez.
SELENA’S KILLER SPOKE IN CONTROVERSIAL DOCUMENTS, CLAIMS THAT SHE DID NOT INTEND TO KILL THE SINGER
Yolanda Saldivar has applied for parole, nearly 30 years after she fatally shot the Latino pop star. (AP/Oxygen)
According to New York Postinmates at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas — where Saldívar is incarcerated — told the publication that she was placed in protective custody because she was a hard target among inmates.
“Everybody knows who Yolanda Saldívar is,” Marisol Lopez, who served alongside her from 2017 to 2022, told the newspaper. “There’s a bounty on her head, like everyone wants a piece of her. The guards keep her away from everyone else, because they hate her so much. If she’s out [in general population]someone would try to take her down.”
In February 2024, Saldívar gave a new prison interview featured in the Oxygen documentary series, “Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them.”
“I think it’s time to get the story straight,” Saldívar said in the documentaries. “And I think people deserve to know the truth.”
Yolanda Saldivar killed Quintanilla-Perez on March 31, 1995. (Oxygen)
Saldívar claims she had no intention of killing Quintanilla-Pérez, but instead insisted she wanted to end her own life. But in a series of unfortunate events, the gun allegedly went off and hit the 23-year-old instead.
“It surprised me,” Saldívar said. “I didn’t know my gun went off. I didn’t know it hit her. It scared her, it scared me. There was never any intention of harming her.”
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“My decisions were my decisions and the consequences were also mine,” she said. “I’m sorry for all that. If I could turn back time, if I could turn back the clock, I think a lot of things wouldn’t be the same [are]. And I want people to know that I miss Selena just as much as they do. So many. But I know I will see her again in heaven. I know I will. She didn’t deserve to die.”
“I’m so sorry she’s gone,” Saldívar said. “I’m so sorry her family was hurt. And I’m so sorry my family was hurt. At no point did I ever mean to hurt anyone.”
Quintanilla has been called the “Mexican-American Madonna” throughout her career. (Getty Images)
The documentary received a backlash from fans as well as family and friends of the pop star.
Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, told TMZ that the documentary contained “nothing but lies.”
“No one will believe what she has to say anyway,” Patriarch Quintanilla told the newspaper at the time of publication. “Everyone knows there is no truth in anything that comes out of her mouth.”
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Saldívar said she was “condemned by public opinion” before the trial even began.
“They got a story that wasn’t true, that I was an embezzler, an obsessed fan,” Saldivar said in the documentary. “I have been stripped of my right as a United States citizen to be innocent until proven guilty.”
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“I was guilty. I needed to prove my innocence. I know people were hurt. And I know they love her. Without a doubt. And I know they’re still suffering. I know too. I think Abraham took advantage of that feeling, that sympathy.. . to poison their minds.”
Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this post.
