Yolanda Saldívar, the killer of Grammy Award-winning songstress Selena Quintanilla-Pérez who feels like a “political prisoner,” is preparing for her parole eligibility hearing.
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As we previously shared in December 2024, Yolanda Saldívar, the woman who fatally shot 23-year-old singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez on March 31, 1995, filed parole paperwork in an attempt to secure her release from prison. Saldívar, 64, is currently serving a life sentence for the horrific murder of the Tejano icon.
According to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice official, Saldívar has maintained a pristine record. She’s currently housed at the Patrick O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas. The unit also houses women in the state on Death Row. Saldívar has also maintained that she did not mean to kill her former boss. She continues to claim her death was accidental.
On that fateful day, Saldívar fatally shot the ‘Queen of Tejano’ in the back inside a Days Inn hotel room in Corpus Christi, Texas, during a confrontation. The “Como La Flor” songstress believed that Saldívar had embezzled over $60,000 from her fan club and clothing boutiques. Saldívar was a registered nurse who became a close friend, president of Selena’s fan club, and manager of two of her clothing boutiques.
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At the meet-up, the singer planned to terminate her when Saldíar fatally shot her. The tragic incident occurred just two weeks before Quintanilla-Pérez’s 24th birthday. After holding herself hostage in her pickup truck, threatening to kill herself, Saldívar surrendered and was arrested. She was charged with first-degree murder, a charge to which she pleaded not guilty.
Her defense attorneys argued in court that she was trying to kill herself and not the singer. Saldívar was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. If granted parole, Saldívar plans to live with relatives and even get a job.
Family Of Selena Quintanilla’s Killer Yolanda Saldívar Says She Should Be Freed Ahead Of March 2025 Parole Eligibility
In March 2024, a Saldívar relative told the New York Post that she believes she should be freed from prison when she becomes eligible for parole in March 2025. The unnamed relative told the outlet:
“Enough is enough. She feels like she’s a political prisoner at this point. She’s ready to get out of jail because she believes she has more than served her time.”
Since being dubbed a “political prisoner,” Selena Quintanilla-Pérez’s killer Yolanda Saldívar is now preparing for her parole eligibility hearing this month. According to online records from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Saldívar will become eligible on March 30, one day before the 30th anniversary of the singer’s death. During her third bid for parole, Saldívar has also claimed that she has “a bounty on her head” among inmates wanting revenge for the Latina star’s murder.
Selena Quintanilla’s Family And Husband Chris Pérez Urge Parole Board To Never Release Yolanda Saldívar
Meanwhile, Selena Quintanilla’s grieving husband, Chris Pérez, is warning against the parole board granting Yolanda Saldívar’s release. He pleads with the board to deny her request and warns she should never have the chance to walk free. He tells the Daily Mail:
“I don’t want that [her release] to happen, because of what she has done and how many people she’s hurt. Selena is no longer here with us. But I’ve also gotten to see the pain that it’s caused her family and to, of course, myself. Just seeing the hurt and the ups and downs we have to still go through. It’s something that to this day really upsets me – and that’s understating it. I don’t think I’ll ever not feel this way.”
Chris Pérez and the singer’s sister, Suzette Quintanilla, have talked about the possibility of Saldívar’s release. He says the whole family is in agreement that this just must NOT happen. He adds:
“I live with [knowing] all the things that me and Selena could have done together and that she could have done as an artist, as a businesswoman, and as a woman coming into her power – what she could have become. I mean, it’s just all those things combined. That’s why I don’t feel like it should ever happen.”
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