Selena’s family ‘grateful’ singer’s killer didn’t get parole

Selena’s family is “grateful” that the young singer’s killer, Yolanda Saldívar, was denied parole Thursday in Texas.

Saldívar, 64, is serving a life sentence for the March 31, 1995, murder that took place at a Corpus Christi hotel after the singer, whose last name was Quintanilla-Pérez, accused friend Saldívar of embezzling $30,000. The older woman had been president of the Selena fan club and manager of the singer’s Selena Etc. boutiques.

The Quintanilla family and Chris Pérez, the guitarist who secretly married Selena in 1992, seemed pleased with the decision to deny parole, writing on social media, “Today, we are grateful.” They said they were celebrating Selena’s life, rather than remembering her murder.

The parole board said in documents obtained Thursday by The Times that the killing had “elements of brutality, violence, assaultive behavior or conscious selection of victim’s vulnerability indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others, such that the offender poses a continuing threat to public safety.”

“While nothing can bring Selena back,” the family continued, “this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon.”

Saldívar’s case is eligible for another parole review — in Texas, a comprehensive evaluation involving interviews and behavioral reviews — in 2030.

“Selena’s legacy is one of love, music, and inspiration. She lived with joy, gave selflessly, and continues to uplift generations with her voice and her spirit,” the Quintanillas and Pérez wrote. “As her family and loved ones, we remain committed to preserving her memory and ensuring that her story is honored with the dignity and respect it deserves.”

Fans’ support, they said, had been a source of strength and healing over the years.

The Tejana pop superstar was about to record her first English-language crossover album when she was shot in the back by Saldívar at a Corpus Christi Days Inn. “Dreaming of You” was released posthumously in July 1995.

Jennifer Lopez starred in “Selena,” the 1997 film about the singer, and in 2020, Netflix debuted “Selena: The Series,” a two-season, 18-episode series looking at her rise to fame with the family band, Los Dinos, and her murder.

In 2024, the Oxygen network released “Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them,” a two-part documentary incorporating Saldívar’s version of events. The latter was done without the family’s OK.

Most recently, the documentary “Selena y Los Dinos,” featuring home movies shot by older sister Suzette Quintanilla, impressed audiences at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

Selena fans weren’t happy about “Selena & Yolanda.” “It’s very clear to me that [the filmmakers are] giving a lot of weight to Yolanda’s allegations,” “Anything for Selena” podcast host Maria Elena Garcia told The Times in 2024. referencing promotions for the documentary. “Empty allegations that she has been making for literally decades. To me, that’s incredibly irresponsible, unethical and, frankly, just distasteful.”

Earlier this month, a Saldívar family member told the New York Post that Saldívar knows what she did was wrong but maintains that Selena came at her “really aggressively.”

“She was so thrown off with how forceful Selena was being; everything happened so fast,” the family member said. “If Selena had confronted her differently, this never would have happened.”

Saldívar’s defense team alleged at trial in October 1995 that she shot Selena by accident and that Corpus Christi police who questioned her never mentioned that claim.

During a nine-hour standoff at the hotel where Selena was shot, Saldívar told police negotiators that she told the singer she had bought a .38-caliber revolver to kill herself, the Associated Press reported in 1995.

“She told me: ‘Yolanda, I don’t want you to kill yourself.’ She opened the door. When I told her to close it, the gun went off,” Saldívar said. The taped conversation was played at trial.

Saldívar did not testify at trial after a judge denied a request that she testify only about her interactions with police. However, several hotel employees testified that they saw a calm Saldívar with the gun pursuing a screaming, bleeding Selena, the AP said.

Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.