Yolanda Saldivar is a former American nurse who was convicted of the murder of singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez on March 31, 1995.

Selena Quintanilla-Perez referred to as the “Queen of Tejano music” was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Selena started showing her musical abilities at a very young age. Her dad opened a Mexican restaurant in 1980 where Selena and her siblings performed. As Selena became older, she became more involved in her musical career which interfered with her eduction.Selena became a star, her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century.

After attending one of her concerts, Yolanda Saldivar began to repeatedly call Selena’s father about starting a fan club. Mr. Quintanilla gave in to Yolanda’s offer and she became president of the fan club. Yolanda was also promoted as manager of Selena’s clothing boutiques. By 1993, the fan club had reached over 1,500 members in less than four years and it kept growing until it reached over 5,000 members.

After becoming manager of Selena’s boutiques, Yolanda was also signed as Selena’s registered agent in San Antonio, Texas. After this agreement, Yolanda moved to Corpus Christi just to be closer to Selena. In December 1994, Selena’s boutiques began to suffer after the number of staff began to decrease. according to staff members from the boutiques, Yolanda would often fire anyone she disliked. Employees informed Mr.Quintanilla about Yolanda’s behavior and he warned Selena by telling her to “be careful” and that Yolanda might not be the best influence. Many people that worked with Selena, including her fashion designer and clients told reporters in an interview that Yolanda’s devotion to Selena bordered on obsession.

Selena’s father discovered that Yolanda had embezzled more than $30,000 via forged checks from both the fan club and boutique. This caused Yolanda to be fired. On the morning of March 31, 1995, Selena agreed to meet Yolanda at her motel to retrieve some financial records. At the motel, Yolanda pointed a gun at her and although sElena tried to escape, she was shot once in the back. She was pronounced dead.

During Yolanda’s trial, the defense attorney argued that the shooting was accidental but the prosecution pointed out that Yolanda was a trained nurse and did not try to call 911 to help after Selena was shot. After deliberating for less than three hours, Yolanda Saldivar was found guilty of first-degree murder on October 23, 1995. She was later sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in thirty years.