Woman who shot dead superstar Selena seeking parole after 30 years behind bars

Selena superfan turned murderer Yolanda Saldívar has been paroled after serving 30 years in prison for fatally shooting the music icon.

“Queen of Tejano” Selena Quintanilla-Perez, 23, was murdered by Saldívar, then 34, in a hotel room in Corpus Christi, Texas during an argument on March 3, 1995.

Saldívar, now 64, was the president of Selena’s fan club and had embezzled $60,000 from the group. The superstar planned to fire her.

After nearly three decades behind bars, Saldívar has filed paperwork to be released from prison in March 2025.

While serving her life sentence at the Patrick O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, she has maintained an impeccable record, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice official told police. New York Post.

But fellow inmates have revealed that Saldívar “has a bounty on her head” inside the prison walls, requiring her to stay in special protective housing.

Former inmate Yesenia Dominguez told the Post that the beloved pop star’s killer was on everyone’s radar.

She said: ‘Everyone always said, ‘Let me have five minutes with that bitch.’

‘Queen of Tejano’ Selena Quintanilla-Perez, 23, was murdered by Saldívar in March 1995

Fellow inmates revealed Saldívar ‘has a bounty on her head’ at the Patrick O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville

“Everyone wanted justice for Selena. There’s a target on her back.”

Marisol Lopez, another former inmate who served alongside Saldívar for five years, told the newspaper: “Everyone knows who Yolanda Saldívar is.

“There’s a bounty on her head, like everyone wants a piece of her. The guards keep her away from everyone else because she is so hated.”

These security concerns have increased Saldívar’s urgency to get out of prison. One of her cousins ​​told the Post that she has become a “political prisoner.”

“Keeping her in jail won’t do any good,” the relative said.

“It’s time for her to get out.”

Since the 1995 murder, Saldívar has maintained the controversial belief that she wanted to shoot herself, not Selena.

Saldívar was very close to Selena and was the president of her fan club before she shot the star

Saldívar has claimed that she intended to shoot herself, and not Selena, during the fatal confrontation

In a Peacock documentary about the star’s tragic death, called “Selena and Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them,” Saldívar discussed her criminal proceedings.

“I was convicted by public opinion before my trial even started,” she claimed.

If she is released on parole, Saldívar says she will live with relatives and work.

Nueces County District Attorney and District Court Judge Carlos Valdez, who was the prosecutor in the case, shared his thoughts on her parole.

He told it 3News: ‘When I tried this case thirty years ago, I looked around and saw thousands of people all interested in this case, and I thought to myself, “This will all pass.”

“Five years from now, people will forget this case, people will forget Selena, people will forget this ever happened, and I was so wrong.”

The trial prosecutor has come forward and stated that he does not believe Saldívar should be released on parole

He revealed that he believes Saldívar should be denied parole due to the public nature of the situation.

Valdez said, “Thirty years later, there is so much interest in the case and I believe – I truly believe – that the safest place for Yolanda would probably be where she is.

“Based on what I have seen so far, I believe it would be a serious mistake to grant parole at this time.”