Yolanda Saldívar

Yolanda Saldívar (born September 19, 1960) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez on March 31, 1995, at the Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas.^[1] She will be eligible for parole on March 30, 2025.

Early life

Yolanda Saldívar was the youngest of seven children born to Frank and Juanita Saldívar in San Antonio, Texas. Her father was a head waiter at Jacala, a Mexican restaurant in the West End. She attended three different elementary schools in the Edgewood Independent School District. Saldívar first attended Kennedy High School, then transferred to Holmes High School, followed by Jay High School, before graduating in 1979 from McCollum High School. While at McCollum, Saldívar belonged to the Junior ROTC. Few classmates recall Saldívar, who was a classmate of Ram Herrera, who graduated in 1978, and Emilio Navaira, who graduated in 1980.

Saldívar was accepted at the University of Texas in 1985, then transferred to Palo Alto College. She studied to be a registered nurse, and on December 10, 1990, received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas A&M International University. At this time, she became obsessed with losing weight. She also began work as a graduate nurse at Medical Center Hospital. In March 1990, she received her license as a registered nurse from the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners and earned $60,000 a year. Saldívar, who never married, had to work part-time after adopting three children, one of them her niece.

Saldívar's employers, Dr. Faustino Gomez, a dermatologist, sued her for $9,200 that he said she stole from him starting in 1983. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court. Within two months, Saldívar was back in court again when the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation obtained a Travis County court judgement in Austin against her for failing to repay a student loan of $7,361. At that time, Saldívar had switched jobs and was working as a nurse at St. Luke's Lutheran Hospital.

Selena fan club

In the next four years, Saldívar worked at two other hospitals. Having become a fan of Tejano music, she began attending artists' concerts. After a Shelly Lares concert in San Antonio, she approached the singer about starting a fan club. Her request was declined by Lares' father, Fred, who would approve of no one but family members working with the singer. Saldívar was convinced by her friends to give Selena a try, although she originally disliked the singer because she dominated the Tejano Music Awards.

After attending one of her concerts, she began repeatedly calling Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., about starting a fan club in San Antonio.^[2] Quintanilla eventually gave in to Saldívar's requests and she immediately became the club's president. Saldívar was promoted as manager of Selena's clothing boutiques, Selena Etc..^[3] By 1993, the fan club had reached 1,500 members in less than four years, and eventually grew to over 5,000. It became one of the largest fan clubs in the San Antonio area.^[4]

Murder of Selena

In the spring of 1995, Selena's family discovered that Saldívar was embezzling money from the fan club and the boutiques, so they fired her.^[5] Three weeks later, Selena agreed to meet Saldívar at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi^[6] on the morning of March 31, 1995, to retrieve financial records Saldívar had been refusing to turn over. Saldívar once again delayed the handover by claiming she had been raped in Mexico.^[7] Selena drove Saldívar to a local hospital, where doctors found no evidence of rape.^[8] They returned to the motel, where Selena again demanded the financial papers.^[5] Saldívar took a .38 Taurus Model 85 revolver from her purse and pointed it at the singer. Selena tried to flee, but Saldívar shot her once in the back, severing an artery. Critically wounded, Selena ran towards the lobby for help. She collapsed on the floor as the clerk called 911, with Saldívar chasing her, calling her a "bitch".^[9] Selena died in a hospital from loss of blood at 1:05 p.m, two weeks from her 24th birthday.^[10]

Trial and imprisonment

Mountain View Unit, where Saldívar is being held

Saldívar's trial for the murder of Selena was followed closely by the Latino community in the United States. The trial was not televised, but cameras were permitted on the courthouse premises. The venue was moved to Houston, Texas, after Saldívar's lawyers successfully argued that she could not receive a fair trial in Selena's home town. Before the start of the trial, CNN reported that prosecutors were expected to introduce a controversial police confession signed by Saldívar in which she said she shot Selena "during an argument over accusations from the singer's father that Saldívar stole money from Selena's accounts." The defense was expected to introduce testimony from Texas Ranger Robert Garza that "he overheard Saldívar claim the shooting was accidental, and that she objected when police failed to include it in her statement".^[1]

The defense attorney argued the shooting was accidental, but the prosecution pointed out that Saldívar, a trained nurse, did not call 911 or try to help Selena after she was shot.^[11] Saldívar claimed that the gun "[accidentally] went off". The gun, a .38 caliber Taurus Model 85 revolver, required 11 pounds of pressure on the trigger to fire, which can occur only when the trigger is intentionally pulled. The judge did not give the jury the option of lesser charges of manslaughter or negligent homicide, and told the jurors they must convict or acquit Saldívar on the sole charge of first-degree murder.

Jurors deliberated for less than three hours on October 23, 1995, before finding Saldívar guilty of first-degree murder.^[11] On October 26, 1995, she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in thirty years; this was the maximum prison term allowed in Texas at the time.^[12] On November 22, 1995, she arrived at the Gatesville Unit (now Christina Crain Unit) in Gatesville, Texas to be processed.^[13]

Saldívar is serving a life sentence at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. She will become eligible for parole on March 30, 2025.^[14][15] Due to multiple death threats from Selena fan inmates, Saldívar was placed in isolation. She spends 23 hours each day alone in her 9 by 6 feet (2.7 m × 1.8 m) prison cell. She was allowed to purchase a radio from the commissary. She may have a two-hour visit with family or friends each week.^[16]

After the conviction

The revolver used to kill Selena went missing after the trial and was later found in the home of a court reporter. Despite objections from some historical groups, it was dismantled and the pieces thrown into Corpus Christi Bay in 2002.^[17]

Saldívar has asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to accept a petition that challenges her conviction. She claims the petition was filed in 2000 with the 214th District Court, but was never sent to the higher court. Her request was received on March 31, 2008, the thirteenth anniversary of Selena's death.^[18]

Portrayal in film

Saldívar was portrayed in the movie Selena by the late actress Lupe Ontiveros.^[19]

See also

• Mark David Chapman
• Marvin Gay Sr.

References