THE murder of Selena Quintanilla shocked the Tejano community - and the world.
Selena's killer was crazed fan Yolanda Saldívar, who was head of the Selena fan club and knew the Quintanilla family personally.
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Why did Yolanda Saldívar kill Selena Quintanilla?
Yolanda Saldívar was the president of Selena Quintanilla's fan club and she also managed the singer's clothing boutiques.
In 1995, Selena's father, Abraham, was informed by boutique employees that Saldívar had stolen over $60,000 from the company.
After he looked into the situation, he became convinced that Saldívar was embezzling money.
Abraham confronted her and immediately sacked her from all her duties relating to the Selena franchise.
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However, Saldívar still had the financial documents that Selena needed, and so the crazed fan told the singer to meet her at a motel so they could exchange the records.
Saldívar kept delaying the handover of the documents, reportedly telling Selena she had beensexually assaulted in Mexico to delay the exchange further.
The pair finally returned to the motel, and Saldívar handed over the documents, but as Selena turned to leave the room, she pulled out a revolver and shot the singer in the back.
Selena ran towards the motel lobby for help, chased by Saldívar. The beloved singer was taken to hospital but later died fromblood loss.
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Saldívar was arrested after a 9.5-hour standoff with police in which she threatened to kill herself.
Carlos Valdez, the lead prosecutor inSaldívar's murder trial, explained why Saldívar wanted to kill Valdez.
He said, "Yolanda wanted to kill Selena because Selena was firing Yolanda. She wouldn’t exist if she didn’t have Selena."
"And if she didn’t work for Selena, she didn’t want to work for anybody."
Who is Yolanda Saldívar?
Yolanda Saldívar was a former nurse who became Selena’s fan club president after attending one of Selena's concerts.
Saldívar contacted Selena’s dad,Abraham Quintanilla, about starting a fan club, which he agreed to.
She was later given the responsibility of running Selena’s clothing boutiques and became increasingly close with Selena and her family.
The club grew to over 1,500 members in its first four years, but questions over Saldívar’s leadership of the fan club developed.
After the shooting, Saldívar was apprehended by police. She maintained that the shooting was accidental.
However, the prosecution pointed out that Saldívar was a trained nurse but did not try to help Selena after she was shot.
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Where is Yolanda Saldívar now?
Yolanda Saldívar pleaded not guilty, claiming she had meant to use the gun on herself.
But a jury took less than 3 hours to convict Saldívar.
On October 24, 1995, she was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
In 2019, she requested a new trial, claiming the prosecutorwithheld exculpatory material evidence. Her request was dismissed.
Saldívar is still in Mountain View Prison inTexasfor themurder of Selena.
However, she may not be behind bars for much longer as the convicted murderer will be eligible for parole in 2025.
Yolanda is featured in adocu-series about Selena's murder, where she speaks about her working relationship and friendship with the beloved star.
"I knew her secrets, and I think the people deserved to know the truth," she claimed.
Tear-jerking opening scene from Netflix original series Selena
She also claimed that Selena's family didn't have evidence that she embezzled any money, hence why she purchased a firearm.
"I didn't feel safe. It was my own self-defense that if anything came my way, I was going to protect myself. I was fearful,” she said in the documentary.
What's more, she claimed that she never wanted to harm Selena, let alone kill her.
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"I did not know when my gun went off. I did not know that it hit her because I thought that she just ran," she explained.
"It scared me, it scared her. All I can say is that there was never, ever any intention to do her any harm."
