Selena's Killer eligible for parole now

Photo Credit: Selena Quintanilla-Perez’s signature logo

The fan who worked for ‘90s Tejano pop star Selena and then gunned her down in 1995, has filed a petition for parole in Texas 30 years later.

Yolanda Saldívar, the fan-turned-manager of Tejano pop sensation Selena Quintanilla-Perez, who gunned the singer down in 1995 after getting caught embezzling from her companies, has filed a petition for parole in Texas. The now-64-year-old Saldívar was president of Selena’s fan club and the manager of her boutique line, Selena, Etc., when she shot her to death on March 31, 1995.

The murder occurred in a Days Inn hotel room in Corpus Christi, during a confrontation following the discovery by Selena and her family that Saldívar was embezzling funds. When Saldívar pulled a .38 Taurus Model 85 revolver on her, Selena fled the room, but was shot in the back. The 23-year-old Tejano star later died at a local hospital due to blood loss.

Saldívar has maintained the shooting was an accident, that she planned to kill herself that day. But a jury did not believe her defense, and Saldívar was convicted of murder on October 23, 1995. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 30 years.

In just under three months, on March 25, that date will arrive. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice online records, Saldívar is currently “in the Parole Review Process.” She is currently being held at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas.

The parole process in the state of Texas takes six months and involves an interview with the inmate, as well as submitting letters of support and protest. This is compiled by an Institutional Parole Officer, who submits a case summary for the Board voting panel. In Saldívar’s case, that panel will decide on parole at the end of March. Saldívar reportedly has no blemishes on her record that would prevent the Board from holding a hearing to determine whether to release her.

According to conversations with inmates in a report by the NY Post, Saldívar is a constant target among other inmates and receives death threats for her crime. Saldívar claimed during a prison interview for the Peacock documentary, Selena and Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them, that she “was convicted by public opinion even before my trial started.”