The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied parole to the convicted killer of Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez on Thursday, nearly 30 years after the barrier breaking 23-year-old died at the brink of superstardom.
Quintanilla-Pérez’s family and husband, Chris Pérez, said in a statement posted to social media that they were grateful for the decision, which “reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon.”
“We will continue to celebrate Selena’s life — not the tragedy that took her from us — and we ask that all who cherish her do the same,” the statement read.
Yolanda Saldívar, who was sentenced to life in prison for the March 31, 1995, slaying, was under parole review for the first time. She is incarcerated at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit prison in Gatesville, Texas.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles said in a statement that the panel denied parole because of the nature of the offense, which indicated a “conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others, such that the offender poses a continuing threat to public safety.” The panel reached its decision after “a thorough consideration of all available information, which included any confidential interviews conducted,” the statement read.
Saldivar’s next parole review is set for March 2030.
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Before the parole board’s decision, Saldívar’s brother, Armando Saldívar, told The Washington Post that he wished his younger sister could be released from prison.
“We were a family of eight, now there’s only three of us,” Armando Saldívar said in Spanish. “My parents are gone, and my brothers and one sister are gone. I want to be together as we get older.”
He declined to comment further, adding, “The opinion that we have and the opinion the public has are two different things. We don’t have any reason to talk with anyone because no one understands us.”
As the president of Quintanilla-Pérez’s fan club, Yolanda Saldívar had once been close to the pop star. But during Saldívar’s criminal trial, prosecutors alleged she intentionally killed Quintanilla-Pérez because she was about to be fired by the Grammy award-winning singer’s family for embezzling money.
Yolanda Saldívar said at the witness stand, and also in a two-part documentary series released on Peacock last year, that she was going to kill herself with her .38-caliber revolver, but that the weapon accidentally discharged when she met Quintanilla-Pérez.
The prospect of Yolanda Saldívar’s early release from a life sentence angered many fans of the singer, commonly known as Selena. A small group organized an online letter-writing campaign to the Texas parole board, arguing that Saldívar should stay behind bars because she had not taken accountability for her crime.
Most admirers say their focus is solely on Quintanilla-Pérez, whose enduring fame cemented her as an icon with new generations of fans that still mourn her untimely death.
