Who killed Latino star Selena?
The murder of one of the most famous Latino stars in history, Selene Quintanille-Perez, still captures public attention today. At the height of her fame, she was killed by her best friend
Although 27 years have passed since the violent death of 23-year-old Selena Quintanilla-Perez, her tragic story continues to capture public attention. Netflix series follows her life, and back in 1997, and just two years after the young singer was killed at the peak of her career, a film was made about her in which Selena was played by the then lesser-known Jennifer Lopez.
Selena gave her first concert when she was only eight years old and she never stopped after. At 23, she was one of the most famous singers of Tejano music (Mexican folk music), won numerous awards, including the Grammy, and in addition to being the first major Latino star to gain world fame, she was also the first artist that received an award in two different genres.
The beautiful singer, who was nicknamed the Mexican Madonna, had her whole life and probably an enviable career ahead of her, but at the height of her fame, she was killed by a woman she considered a close friend.
A month before her death, Selena recorded her first English-language album called ‘Dreaming of You’ which was released after her death and broke sales records. She also expanded her business empire to ‘Selena Etc’, a boutique chain with a clothing line and jewelry. An important role in her business was played by 32-year-old Yolanda Saldivar, who was also the president of Selena's fan club. Selena considered her a person of trust and a friend, but Yolanda had different intentions.
It was already being revealed when Yolanda became the manager of Selena's boutiques. According to Joe Nick Patosli in the singer's biography 'Selena: Como La Flor', Yolanda used a company credit card given to her by Selena to rent cars, take business partners to expensive restaurants and buy two mobile phones for personal use. The staff employed in the boutiques later revealed that Yolanda was kind to them only when Selena was present, while on other occasions she would harass them.
‘I once told Selena that I was afraid of Yolanda who after that did not allow me to ever talk to Selena again. The villa is very possessive ', said designer Martin Gomez, who was in charge of creating clothes from Selena's fashion line.
On March 30, Selena met Yolanda at the motel where she was staying, and she was supposed to hand over some financial documents. Yolanda didn't have the documents with her, so Selena came back for them the next day. People staying in adjoining rooms testified that they heard them arguing loudly and then a gunshot was heard.
Yolanda pulled out a gun in an argument and shot Selena, hitting her in the shoulder. Selena, bleeding profusely and screaming, fled to the lobby of the motel where she collapsed and lost consciousness. When police arrived at the scene, they found Yolanda locked in a van with a gun on her forehead.
'I can't believe I killed my best friend,' she said through tears.
It took police nearly 10 hours to persuade her to come out and arrest her. Meanwhile, Selena was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. After unsuccessfully trying to revive her for almost an hour, Selena was officially pronounced dead. It was 16 days before her 24th birthday. Yolanda Saldivar said in court that she did not feel guilty and claimed that she accidentally shot Selena, but the jury found her guilty of murder. She was sentenced to the maximum sentence, life imprisonment without the possibility of probation until 2025. She is currently in a Texas jail where she spends 23 hours a day in an isolated cell.
