UPDATE 3-27-2025: Yolanda Saldívar’s request for parole was denied on Thursday, March 27. Her subsequent parole overview will probably be in 2030.
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Thirty years in the past, music legend Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was killed by her fan membership’s president, Yolanda Saldívar. For the final three a long time, Saldívar has served her life sentence in Texas.
Now 64, Saldívar has a petition for parole underneath overview, in line with Texas Division of Legal Justice on-line information. On Sunday, March 30, she is up for parole for the very first time.
In accordance with a spokeswoman for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, her case will probably be voted on or round then, however there is not any precise date for the choice to be launched.
Here is every part you must learn about Selena, Saldívar and the parole course of in Texas:
Who was Selena Quintanilla-Pérez?Born in 1971, Quintanilla-Pérez demonstrated an unimaginable vocal present in childhood, fronting Selena y Los Dinos together with her siblings A.B. and Suzette Quintanilla.
Her superstardom arrived within the early Nineteen Nineties, together with her distinctive mix of Tejano, pop, cumbia and different musical kinds manifesting in large hits like “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido,” “No Me Queda Mas” and “Tu Solo Tu.”
Identified the world over as The Queen of Tejano, or much more merely simply as Selena, she broke obstacles for ladies in Latin music. She opened the floodgates for a brand new era of latest artists of Latin descent who would go on to get pleasure from large recognition with mainstream American audiences. She typically sang in Spanish and spoke in English, reflecting a cross-cultural id that resonated with listeners.
She received her first Grammy in 1994 for finest Mexican/Mexican-American album for “Reside,” changing into the primary feminine Tejano artist to win the class. She was simply 23 when she was killed the next 12 months. However her legacy endures for Mexican Individuals, Mexicans, Texans, Latinos and past.
Her posthumous English-language crossover album launched a number of months after her loss of life, “Dreaming of You,” topped the Billboard 200, that includes hits like “I Might Fall in Love” and “Dreaming of You.” In 1997, a biographical movie about her life, “Selena,” would shortly develop into a basic, additional launching the profession of lead Jennifer Lopez.
In 2017, she obtained a posthumous star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame. On the time, in line with a Hollywood Chamber of Commerce spokesperson, the gang was the largest-ever for a Stroll of Fame ceremony, breaking a 1998 document set by onlookers on the unveiling of the star for Mexican singer Vicente Fernández.
In 2021, she obtained a posthumous lifetime achievement award from the Grammys. There was no tribute.
In 2025, a brand new documentary that includes never-before-seen footage of the singer and the Quintanilla household, Selena y Los Dinos, premiered at Austin’s South by Southwest movie competition.
Who’s Yolanda Saldívar?Yolanda Saldívar, a former nurse, was the founder and president of Selena’s fan membership. She was additionally a supervisor of Selena’s clothes boutiques, Selena And so forth., however was fired in early 1995 after cash was found lacking.
How did Selena die?On March 31, 1995, Selena went to Saldívar’s room on the Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, to select up enterprise information she wanted for a tax submitting, in line with court docket testimony. A confrontation adopted.
Selena was shot within the again with a .38-caliber revolver within the motel room, ran outdoors and collapsed within the foyer. She was rushed to a close-by hospital and pronounced lifeless about an hour later.
Motel staff testified Selena named “Yolanda” in “room 158” as her attacker.
“I didn’t imply to do it. I didn’t imply to kill anyone,” a sobbing Saldívar stated throughout a 9-hour standoff with police, throughout which she held a gun to her head. She advised police she had purchased the .38-caliber revolver to kill herself.
What occurred at Yolanda Saldívar’s trial?The trial was moved to Houston due to heavy publicity.
Prosecutors contended that Saldívar shot the 23-year-old after the singer’s household suspected her of embezzling $30,000. The protection argued the gun went off by chance.
On October 23, 1995, the jury convicted Saldívar of first-degree homicide. She was sentenced to life in jail, with the potential for parole after 30 years — starting in 2025.
Saldívar didn’t face the loss of life penalty as a result of the crime contained not one of the aggravating circumstances required underneath Texas legislation, comparable to a a number of homicide or a homicide dedicated throughout a theft.
In 1999, the Courtroom of Legal Appeals in Austin turned down Saldívar’s first plea for a brand new trial. In 2000, her lawyer Invoice Berchelmann requested the state to revisit the trial. He argued that prosecutors wrongly dismissed potential jurors due to race, didn’t disclose the legal document of a witness and made improper feedback in court docket. He stated police additionally violated Saldívar’s rights by interrogating her after she requested for an lawyer.
In 2009, Saldívar misplaced an enchantment as a result of it was filed within the flawed county. She had requested the court docket to order an enchantment filed 9 years earlier in Nueces County to maneuver ahead, however the state’s highest legal appeals court docket stated it ought to have been filed in Harris County, the place she was tried and convicted.
She’s incarcerated on the Patrick L. O’Daniel jail unit in Gatesville, Texas, about 90 minutes north of Austin.
How does parole work in Texas?In Texas, the parole division of the state’s Division of Legal Justice identifies inmates six months earlier than the date of their preliminary parole eligibility and pulls their case file for overview. Discover of an inmate’s eligibility for parole is shipped to officers concerned within the trial, any victims and victims’ relations.
An institutional parole officer with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles interviews an inmate and prepares a abstract for the board. The sufferer or the sufferer’s relations can present a written assertion and might seem in individual earlier than board members.
The inmate’s file is then despatched to the parole board and voted on by a three-person panel. The panel will vote on a case simply previous to the inmate’s parole eligibility date and a majority of two votes is required for a remaining determination.
In Texas, the board doesn’t conduct public parole hearings. Parole launch choices are made independently by every panel member.
Representatives for members of Quintanilla-Pérez’s household didn’t instantly reply to The Related Press’ request for remark this week.
What occurs if Saldívar’s parole is denied? What whether it is accepted?A denial by the panel will embrace the date of the following time an inmate will probably be eligible for parole.
Saldívar was convicted of first-degree homicide, one of many crimes the place state legislation dictates that the following overview after a denial could be performed wherever from one to 5 years from the date of the denial.
An approval by the panel might embrace particular situations the inmate must observe whereas on parole. Processing time for a launch differs from case to case. As soon as a launch certificates with an accepted residence plan is issued, it will likely be audited by the Texas Division of Legal Justice’s Classification and Information Division and a launch date is calculated. Usually, these processes can take two to 6 weeks to finish.
The governor can’t veto a parole determination by the pardons board. The governor, upon advice by a majority of the pardons board, can grant clemency. That features pardons, commutations and reprieves.
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Related Press reporter Juan A. Lozano contributed to this report, which additionally incorporates data from earlier CultureMap tales.
