Selena Quintanilla's killer files for parole nearly 30 years after fatally shooting the Latin star

Jan 04, 2025 21:40

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Selena Quintanilla-Pérez's killer, Yolanda Saldívar, has filed for parole nearly 30 years after fatally shooting the Latin pop star on March 31, 1995, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

According to a representative for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Saldivar, 64, is currently in the parole review process. Her eligibility date is March 30, 2025.

Saldívar, who served as the late star’s close friend and president of her fan club, allegedly killed Quintanilla-Pérez after her pal discovered she had embezzled a reported $30,000 from her clothing boutiques. Saldivar still denies ever stealing from Quintanilla-Pérez.

SELENA'S KILLER SPEAKS OUT IN CONTROVERSIAL DOCUSERIES, CLAIMS SHE DIDN'T INTEND TO MURDER SINGER

Yolanda Saldivar has filed for parole, nearly 30 years after fatally shooting the Latin pop star. (AP/Oxygen)

According to The New York Post, inmates at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas - where Saldívar is being held - told the outlet that she has been housed in protective custody due to being a heavy target among inmates.

"Everyone knows who Yolanda Saldívar is," Marisol Lopez, who served time alongside her from 2017 to 2022, told the outlet. "There’s a bounty on her head, like everyone wants a piece of her. The guards keep her away from everyone else, because she’s hated so much. If she were out [in general population], someone would try to take her down."

In February 2024, Saldívar sat down for a new prison interview featured in an Oxygen docuseries, "Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them."

"I think it’s time to set the story straight," Saldívar said in the docuseries. "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, she insisted she wanted to end her own life. However, in a series of unfortunate events, the gun allegedly went off and hit the 23-year-old instead.

"It startled me," Saldívar said. "I did not know my gun went off. I did not know that it hit her. It scared her, it scared me. There was never ever any intention to do her any harm."

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"My decisions were my decisions, and the consequences were also mine," she said. "I’m regretful for all of that. If I could turn back time, if I could turn the clock, I think a lot of things wouldn’t be as they [are]. And I want the people to know I miss Selena just like they do. So much. But I know I will see her again in heaven. I know I will. She didn’t deserve to die."

"I am so sorry that she’s gone," said Saldívar. "I’m so sorry that her family is hurting. And I’m so sorry that my family is hurt. At no point did I mean to hurt anyone."

Quintanilla was dubbed the "Mexican-American Madonna" during her career. (Getty Images)

The documentary received backlash from fans, as well as the pop star's family and friends.

Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, told TMZ that the documentary contained "nothing but lies."

"No one’s gonna believe what she has to say anyway," the Quintanilla patriarch told the outlet at the time of it's release. "Everyone knows there’s zero truth to anything that comes out of her mouth."

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Saldívar said she was "convicted by public opinion" before her trial even started.

"They had been fed a narrative that is not correct, that I was an embezzler, an obsessed fan," Saldivar said in the documentary. "My right as a citizen of the United States to be innocent until proven guilty was reversed from me."

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"I was guilty. I needed to prove my innocence. I know the people were hurting. And I know that they love her. No doubt. And I know that they're still hurting. I do too. I think Abraham took advantage of that sentiment, of that sympathy ... to poison their minds."

Fox News Digital's Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this post.

Christina Dugan Ramirez is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.

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Selena Quintanilla's killer files for parole nearly 30 years after fatally shooting the Latin star