Selena Quintanilla–Perez, popularly known as Selena,  was one of the leading Hispanic performers of the early 1990s. Former nurse Yolanda Saldivar had been one the Tejano singer’s biggest fans, but she was an even bigger fan of the star’s money.

Saldivar was dismissed as Selena’s Fan Club President in early March 1995, after it was learned she was embezzling money from the club. On the morning of October 23, Selena and Saldívar met at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Saldivar was to surrender financial records to Selena. Saldivar, however, stalled several times, even claiming she had recently been raped.

When Selena demanded the documents, Saldívar pulled a gun from her purse and pointed it at the singer. Selena tried to flee, but Saldívar shot her once in the back, severing her artery. The wounded singer ran towards the lobby for help. Saldívar pursued and was heard repeatedly calling her former idol a “bitch.”

Selena and Yolanda Saldivar

Selena collapsed on the lobby floor.

She was rushed to the hospital, but the twenty-three-year-old star succumbed to blood loss.

Selena Slain

Saldivar was convicted of Selena’s murder on March 31, 1995. Selena’s murderer and the “Texas Cadet Murderer” Diana Zamora are said to have become friends while imprisoned.

Zamora, a former Naval Academy midshipman, is serving a life sentence for the 1995 slaying of Adrianne Jones, the high school girlfriend of her former Air Force Academy fiancée and accomplice, David Graham. Zamora’s bid for paroled was rejected in 2018.

Buddies Behind Bars

Yolanda Saldívar becomes eligible for parole on March 30, 2025.

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Parole Hearing Date Is Nearing

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1460/selena-quintanilla-p%C3%A9rez#

SOURCES:

• Houston Chronicle
• Los Angeles Times