Better known today by just her first name, Selena Quintanilla-Perez is the undisputed
Queen of Tejano Music. Tragically, she was murdered on March 31, 1995, by her former
fan club president and friend, Yolanda Saldivar. Here are the details leading up to and following
the murder.
It was 1991 when Yolanda Saldivar first saw Selena Quintanilla perform in person, as written
by journalist María Celeste Arraras in her book, "Selena's Secret: The Revealing Story
Behind Her Tragic Death." Apparently, Saldivar, who was a 30-year-old registered nurse, wasn't
even a fan when she attended that first concert in San Antonio. A country music fan, the nurse
would only attend the Tejano star's show because of an invite from her niece. But once Saldivar
witnessed Selena's onstage magic, she was hooked.
When the memorable show ended, Saldivar was excited to buy some merchandise to commemorate
the night. At the time, though, there were no official products on sale, leading the
new fan to come up with the idea of creating an official fan club. While there are conflicting
stories of how fervent Saldivar's attempts to start the club were — Abraham Quintanilla,
Selena's father, says he received 15 calls from Saldivar, while the nurse maintains she
only called three times — the end result was that Saldivar was given permission to
found and become president of the Selena Fan Club in June 1991. With her main contact being
Suzette Quintanilla, Selena's older sister, Yolanda Saldivar would not actually meet Selena
until six months later, in December.
Under Yolanda Saldivar's leadership, the Selena Fan Club expanded quickly, growing to thousands
of members in just a few years, according to Biography. As Saldivar worked and proved
her usefulness, the president of the Selena Fan Club wormed her way further into Selena
and the Quintanilla family's lives. As told by Texas Monthly, she would constantly be
at Selena's side when the singer was in or near San Antonio, acting as, quote, "Selena's
eyes and ears." Impressed by the fan club president's dedication, the Quintanillas eventually
would entrust Saldivar with more responsibilities.
Over the next few years, the former nurse's life came to completely revolve around Selena.
From having control over the star's business checking accounts to being given a key to
Selena and her husband's home, Saldivar was fully a part of the Tejano superstar's inner
circle. Yolanda Saldivar became someone Selena trusted, someone she confided in and took
advice from. As written by D Magazine, Selena talked warmly of her friend, saying:
"Yolanda was the one who encouraged me to go to college."
With a lifelong interest in fashion and beauty, it was only a matter of time until Selena
had a go at creating her own clothing line. According to Bustle, the music icon was at
the peak of her career, having just won her first Grammy Award the year before for Best
Mexican-American Album, when she opened two Selena Etc. boutiques in Corpus Christi and
San Antonio in 1994. The stores were must-go spots for all Selena fans, selling "Selena
memorabilia and clothes, some of which were designed by Selena herself," while also offering
salon services. And the appointed manager trusted to handle these boutiques? You guessed
it: Yolanda Saldivar.
It was around the time of Saldivar's promotion that her behavior started to become troubling.
As written in "Selena's Secret," boutique employees claimed that Saldivar was possessive
over Selena and, quote, "constantly looking for ways to keep her away from others." The
Washington Post reported on how Martin Gomez, the fashion designer for Selena's boutique
clothing line who worked alongside Saldivar for eight months, quit his role solely because
he couldn't stand working with the vindictive manager any longer. Even at home, Saldivar's
obsession with Selena was a problem, with a roommate moving out after two weeks due
to being, quote, "spooked" by the "shrine" Saldivar had turned the apartment into, according
to Texas Monthly.
Despite repeated instances of Saldivar's troubling attitude, the young and trusting Selena had,
quote, "loyally defended Saldívar when anyone criticized her," according to The Washington
Post. That is, until the singer's father was made aware of some suspicious behavior. In
January 1995, Abraham Quintanilla was informed of an issue with the fan club: Members were
complaining that they'd never received any of the merchandise they were promised despite
sending in their $22, as reported by Texas Monthly. Before telling Selena, Abraham started
doing some quiet digging.
As D Magazine writes, several signs that Saldivar was embezzling money from the fan club and
boutiques were uncovered, from unpaid bills to forged checks that Saldivar had written
to herself and her family. On top of all that, it turned out that Saldivar had a history
of similar behavior. She was once "accused of embezzling funds from a previous employer,
and [...] had defaulted on a student loan." The woman who had obsessively dedicated her
life to Selena was on her way to being kicked right out of it.
On March 9, 1995, Selena, her father Abraham, and her sister Suzette confronted Saldivar
about her suspicious accounting. Given only unsatisfactory excuses, the Quintanillas concluded
that they could no longer trust Saldivar and relieved her of her duties. When she tried
to show up to work the next day, Abraham kicked her out. The whole ordeal apparently pushed
her to extreme measures. The very next day, March 11, Saldivar purchased a weapon, and
on the 13th, after a background check, the newly fired manager was in possession of a
.38-caliber pistol, according to Biography.
Despite her firing, Saldivar was able to obtain some of Selena's important financial records
and, over the next few weeks, would effectively use them as leverage to stall her termination.
On March 15, Selena went with her husband Chris Perez to meet up with Saldivar and collect
the missing records. The meeting was bizarre, with Saldivar returning only some of the documents
and also showing off her new gun to Selena — which she claimed was for protection.
Unruffled, the Tejano star simply told her to return it, while suggesting that Saldivar
could perhaps manage her upcoming stores in Mexico. The meeting seemed to have calmed
Saldivar some because the gun was brought back to the store soon after.
Despite the situation having been somewhat deescalated, Saldivar went back to the gun
store and repurchased the .38-caliber weapon on March 26, according to UPI.
Still in possession of important financial documents, Saldivar asked for Selena to come
alone to her room at the Days Inn to get the documents on the night of March 30. Smartly,
Selena came with her husband, who waited outside while the two women talked in Room 158. Handing
the records over, Saldivar mentioned some shocking news to Selena:
She then asked to be taken to the hospital because of excessive bleeding. At the same
time, the singer noticed that there were still documents missing. Another trip to the Days
Inn was arranged for the next morning, but this time, Selena would go alone.
On the morning of March 31, 1995, the Queen of Tejano Music met up with Saldivar again.
Tension between the two seemed to start at the hospital, where Selena called Saldivar
out for lying about how much she was bleeding and showed signs of distrust. Ultimately,
the hospital was unable to perform the exam needed to determine whether Saldivar had been
assaulted, and the two women returned back to Room 158.
Upon returning from the hospital, Selena and Saldivar begin heatedly exchanging words.
Once again, Selena asked for her documents back, apparently trying to officially end
their professional relationship, according to Texas Monthly. In response, Saldivar demanded
that Selena return a ring she was once gifted by her employees, but as the singer was pulling
off the ring, the other woman was pulling out her gun.
Selena had her back to Saldivar when she was shot at 11:48 a.m. As reported by Yahoo, a
maid heard Saldivar scream as Selena frantically ran out of the room bleeding. As described
by D Magazine:
"The bullet hit a major artery, went through her right lung, and exited the singer's chest."
Stumbling into the lobby, Selena collapsed on the floor and begged the workers to lock
the door, quote, "because she'll shoot me again." Asked who shot her, Selena uttered
her last words before passing out, the ring still in her hand:
"Yolanda, Room 158."
She was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, but the damage from the bullet had caused
so much blood loss that she was "clinically brain dead" by the time she arrived. Despite
"heroic" efforts to save Selena, the 23-year-old Queen of Tejano Music was tragically pronounced
dead at 1:05 PM.
While Selena was dying at the hospital, Saldivar was still at the Days Inn parking lot. As
reported by The Washington Post, right after the shooting, a hysterical Saldivar "sat in
her red pickup truck with her gun to her head." Threatening to kill herself, the former fan
club president engaged in a 9.5-hour standoff with the police, with lead negotiator Larry
Rucker Young, quote, "on the phone with her for seven and a half hours," as he told A&E
Real Crime.
Amid cries of wanting to take her own life and claims that Selena's father was responsible
for the shooting, Saldivar's main request to the negotiator was, quote, "to hear what
was going on with Selena. Her condition." Sensing her volatile state, Young decided
against telling Saldivar that Selena had died and instead focused on getting her to put
the gun away and surrender to the police.
"She wanted someone to hear her story. That they are best friends. That she loves Selena.
She admires Selena. She would do anything for her."
Hours later, Yolanda Saldivar was finally arrested.
The death of the young Selena shocked the nation, with thousands of fans in countless
cities holding candlelight vigils that very night. Her music was played all over Spanish-language
radio, with fans calling in to cry and express their grief over the loss of the Tejano star
and cultural icon. As told by Texas Monthly:
"Dances at Tejano venues were called off in cities across Texas."
On Monday, April 3, a public viewing was held, with thousands of fans lining up since the
early morning to pay their respects and see Selena's closed casket, surrounded by 5,000
of her favorite white roses. Soon, though, rumors started up, suggesting that Selena
was not actually in the casket and that the whole thing was actually a publicity stunt.
To shut down any doubts, the Quintanillas opened her casket about "an hour before visitation
ended that evening. With it open, it was clear that it was Selena's body. As Texas Monthly
wrote:
"Her hands, folded across her chest, clutched a single red rose. By ten, when the doors
finally closed, almost 60,000 people had paid their respects."
In October 1995, after just two hours of deliberation by the jury, Yolanda Saldivar was found guilty
of first-degree murder and sentenced to "a maximum of life in prison, with no opportunity
for parole until March 2025 at the earliest.". She has since spent her days in Gatesville,
Texas, at a maximum security women's prison called Mountain View Unit. Despite her conviction,
Saldivar had always insisted that the entire shooting was an accident.
In her version of events, it was Saldivar who was trying to end the professional relationship
with Selena, and the Tejano star begged her not to quit. Saldivar claims that she was
holding the gun to her own head, threatening to kill herself if Selena didn't leave, when
she accidentally fired the gun at Selena while she was gesturing toward the door. Even after
more than two decades in prison, Saldivar has stuck by this story, even requesting a
new trial — and being dismissed — as recently as in 2019.
"Selena," the film, hit theaters in 1997, two years after the singer's death. While
it was produced by Selena's family themselves, there were many who felt that it was too rushed.
This included Salma Hayek, who was offered the title role shortly after the singer's
death but turned it down because she felt it was too early, according to Oprah Daily.
She said:
"It was a little bit distasteful."
In the documentary "The Making of Selena: 10 Years Later," though, the makers of the
movie, including the Quintanilla family, clarified that the film was meant to shut down falsities
before they had a chance to take hold. Actor Edward James Olmos explained that in the 15
months between Selena's death and the filming of the movie, there were already, quote, "eight
books [...] three documentaries, and two major motion pictures [...] in production, and they
were doing it all without the permission of the family."
The press was also putting out, quote, "hurtful" gossip about Selena, and the family knew that
being quick to make the movie would mean being quick to end the negativity. As Selena's brother
put it:
"What we didn't want to happen was to have a misrepresentation of a great artist like
Selena and a family member and a family and a culture. And so it kind of forced the family
to have to make a hard decision, which was making the movie."
While Selena's rise to superstardom was tragically cut short, decades after her death, she is
still being recognized for her major contributions as an artist. She has continued to sell millions
of albums, with her posthumous crossover album "Dreaming of You" still topping the list of
best-selling Latin albums in the United States and "Amor Prohibido" remaining in the Top
5, according to Billboard. In 2017, Selena was given her own star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame, and at the 2021 Grammys, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Her influence on music and culture can be seen in the careers of modern stars like Jennifer
Lopez or on major murals and art pieces. With movies, TV shows, and fashion and beauty collaborations
sharing her legacy, the musical icon's impact continues to transcend generations and cultures even today.