Yolanda Saldivar is a name known throughout the country and in the Tejano music industry for her murder of the famous tejano star in the 90’s Selena Quintanilla. Yolanda’s case sparks controversy by Selena fans especially with her parole date coming up so soon.
Yolanda has the possibility of parole after serving 30 years of her life sentence. Many people question if she will be granted the possibility of parole after serving three decades behind bars? This not only brings light to how the justice system will act in this situation but it stirs outrage that surrounds Selena’s untimely death and her lasting impact on not only her fans but her family as well.
Background
Yolanda Saldivar was born on September 19, 1960 in San Antonio, Texas where she spent most of her childhood. Prior to Yolanda working for Selena, she was a former nurse that worked in a local medical clinic. However, her life would take a dramatic turn after attending one of Selena’s concerts. Yolanda, deeply moved by her performance, became a devoted fan of hers. Yolanda’s devotion made her call Abraham several times to start the idea of making a fan club for Selena fans. Eventually Selena’s father gave in and he made Yolanda the fan club president.
The fan club was a huge success, members of the club would send in money in exchange for exclusive Selena merchandise, it included T-shirts, posters, and memorabilia related to Selena and her band Los Dinos. Yolanda utilized her role to get close to Selena and her family and it grew to be really strong. Eventually Selena would give Yolanda a management position for one her boutique, which sold clothing and provided hair and nail services.
Yolanda grew a very strong relationship with Selena Quintanilla. Selena trusted her so much that she would share her secret with her and trust her to manage her boutique. Yolanda was speculated by the family to be embezzling money from the company, and Selena’s family confronted her about the situation but Yolanda claims she didn’t do anything. When Selena heard of these claims she couldn’t believe her friend could do such a thing, Selena trusted Yolanda too much to believe the embezzling claims. This would eventually lead to Selena’s fate.
Selena’s Murder
Yolanda’s motive has been speculated over the years but fans believe that reason was that Yolanda was embezzling money from the company, as stated by Abraham Quintanilla, Selena’s father and the family soon fired her after that. Selena didn’t believe these claims about her friend and she refused to believe it.
On March 31st, 1955, Selena met Yolanda at the Days Inn hotel for documents of the missing bank statements and to take control of her finances again. No one knows what happened in room 158 but as Selena was exiting the room Yolanda had taken a revolver that she kept for “protection” and shot Selena in the shoulder.
Selena was able to reach the lobby of the hotel but she was fatally wounded as Yolanda shot an artery in her shoulder. Selena was quickly rushed to CHRISTUS Spohn hospital in Corpus Christi Texas but they were unable to save her and Selena succumbed to her wound that same day. Back at the hotel Yolanda engaged in a nine hour standoff with the police trying to unalive herself from the guilt of killing her “ Best Friend,” it ended up with her arrest.
Eligibility for parole
It’s now been 30 years since Selena’s death and with Yolanda having spent three decades behind bars, and now being sixty four, she has the possibility for parole on march 30, 2025.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles reviewed the case in October 2024, this process can get messy as this process included compiling a case file, obtaining a recommendation letter from Yolanda, interviewing her, and also reviewing any letters that could be submitted by the Quintanilla family.
The board has to assess Yolanda behavior while in prison and her participation in the rehabilitation programs. If it shows she has done all these things the board may grant her parole. Parole attorney Marshall Millard says that first time parole applicants face low odds of being granted release because of all the information the board looks for to release prisoners.
This case has gained major attention from the public because of Selena’s fame and how big the case is. Former Nueces County District Attorney Carlos Valdez, who was involved with the case states his concerns about her release, he states that granting her release would be a big mistake and how many threats Yolanda has on her back by not only her inmates but the public, reporters state there is a “bounty on her head” right now.
Despite the public’s outrage Yolanda’s legal team argues she has shown remorse and tried to make herself better during her time in prison. The decision when it is made next month will undoubtedly stir emotions and provoke strong reactions in the public.
Selena’s legacy
With Yolanda Saldivar taking up the media it stirs up the question of who Selena Quintanilla was.
Selena Quintanilla was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. When Selena’s father Abraham Quintanilla and her mother Marcella Ofelia Samora opened a restaurant Selena started to sing there, English and Spanish. At the age of 10 Selena became the lead singer of her family’s band, Selena Y Los Dinos. They mostly performed Tejano music which consists of Mexican, country, and western music.
During her lifetime Selena produced many hits such as “Tu Solo Tu”, “ Amor Prohibido”, “No Me Queda Más”, “Fotos Y Recuerdos” and “ Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”.” They were so popular that they made the Hot Latin Songs chart. But her most famous song is “ Dreaming of You” that peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Selena even won best female vocalist of the year and performer of the year at the Tejano Music Awards. She also won a Grammy for the best Mexican-American Album in 1993 and won the recording academy lifetime achievement award at the 2021 Grammys.
Selena was mostly known for her outfits she wore to her concerts and was sometimes referred to as “ Mexican Madonna” or “Tejano Madonna.” Soon she wasn’t just catching the attention of Tejano fans. Selena also was one of the most influential Latin artists of all time and she was credited for catapulting the tejano genre into the mainstream market.
Her career wasn’t just in the music industry she eventually expanded it to opening two boutiques called Selena Etc. and had a small role in the movie Don Juan DeMarco.
Since her death, movies and tv shows have been made such as the 1997 movie “ Selena” which stars Jennifer Lopez as Selena. In December of 2020 Netflix released a series called “ Selena: The Series” about Selena’s life with the Quintanilla family helping produce it.
It didn’t just stop at entertainment; her family later went on to open the Selena Museum that honors Selena life and legacy. It features her personal items such as her wardrobe, awards, memorabilia, a recreation of her recording studio, her red Porsche, and her multiple tour bus she used back in the day.
Selena continues to impact millions to this day and warms the hearts of her fans even though she has passed.
Parole hearing process
For every state the parole hearing process is different, however with Yolanda saldivar case it will be based on the process in Texas.
For the hearing process it doesn’t require the inmate to appear before the board but the board will review the case file based on the crime, criminal history, institutional conduct, psychological evaluations, and any available impact statements from the victims or the victim’s family.
If the victim or victim’s family want to, they can give their statement to express their views on if the inmate should be granted parole or not, also the public can express their opinions as well. The board looks at the risk assessment, this process looks at how likely the inmate is likely to reoffend someone or something. Once the board looks at all these decisions they can make a formal decision.
The decision can make three choices, they can grant parole but it may come with restrictions for the inmate and they are under the supervision of a parole officer, they could deny the inmate and the inmate has to wait between a period of 1-3 years to be eligible for another hearing, or the board might request more information or require the inmate to participate in programs to be reconsidered for parole.
However if parole is denied the inmate can appeal the decision, this then involves a review of the decision to make sure the decision was under the law and all parts considered carefully.
The decision of parole for Yolanda saldivar is decided within a month, while this might be a good thing for her family and friends many fans are still not over the tragic loss of Selena and the pain Yolanda has caused to the Quintanilla family and the public.Whatever the board decides within the next month will either make people happy or upset. The tragic loss of Selena will continue to impact millions as others might learn about her.
