Tag: Selena Quintanilla

After the premiere of Netflix’s Selena y Los Dinos, more and more fans are remembering the Queen of Tejano Music and want to know who killed Selena Quintanilla and why.

Selena Quintanilla, the youngest of three siblings, was born in Lake Jackson, Texas, on April 16, 1971. She released her first single, “Contigo Quiero Estar,” with EMI Latin in 1989, but it wasn’t until her 1992 smash hit, “Como la Flor,” that she became the Queen of Tejano music we remember today. After “Como la Flor,” Selena went on to release several number-one hits on the U.S. Latin Chart, such as “Amor Prohibido,” “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “No Me Queda Más” and “Fotos y Recuerdos.” In 1994, Selena won her first and only Grammy for Best Mexican/American Album for her 1993 LP Live!.

Since her death in 1995, Selena has been remembered in dozens of biopics and documentaries.

How did Selena Quintanilla die?

Selena was killed on March 31, 1995, by Yolanda Saldivar, the president of her fan club and the manager of her boutique, Selena Etc. In January 1995, Selena’s dad, Abraham, started to receive phone calls from fans who said they paid for a membership in Selena’s fan club but haven’t received anything in return. After an investigation, Abraham discovered that Saldivar had embezzled more than $30,000 in forged checks from both the fan club and Selena’s boutiques, which she started managing in 1995. Abraham banned Saldivar from contacting Selena. However, Selena didn’t want to cut off Saldivar, believing that she was a part of the reason for the success of her fashion line. Selena also didn’t want to end her relationship with Saldivar because the fan had umportant bank records, bank statements and other financial records.

On the morning of March 31, 1995, Selena met Saldivar in her motel room at the Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Selena demanded the financial documents from Saldivar. At 11:48 a.m., Saldivar pulled a gun from her purse and pointed it at Selena. When Selena tried to flee, Saldivar shot her once on the right lower shoulder, severing an artery and causing a severe loss of blood. Wounded, Selena ran down to the lobby, where she collapsed on the floor as a clerk called 911. It’s reported that Saldivar chased her down to the lobby as she called her a “bitch.” Before she collapsed, Selena named Saldivar as the shooter and told the clerk the number of the room where she had been shot. Saldivar, meanwhile, tried to leave in her pickup truck but was spotted by responding police car. After a nine-and-a-half-hour standoff, Saldivar surrendered.

After Saldivar shot her, Selena was taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital, where she was announced dead on arrival. Though the doctors were able to establish an “erratic heartbeat” long enough for her to transfer to a trauma room, Selena was pronounced dead from blood loss and cardiac arrest after 50 minutes of surgery. An autopsy showed that the bullet had entered Selena’s upper right back near her shoulder blade, passed through her chest cavity, severed an artery and exited through her right upper chest.

Where is Yolanda Saldivar now?

At the trial for Selena’s murder, Saldivar claimed that the shooting was an accident. Her lawyers argued that the gun had fired accidentally and the shot was meant for herself, according to The New York Times. On October 24, 1995, a jury in Houston convicted Saldivar of first-degree murder for Selena’s death. She was sentenced to life in prison. Under Texas’ death penalty statute, the death penalty was not an option for the jury.

On November 22, 1995, Saldivar entered her sentence at Gatesville, a women’s prison 110 miles southwest of Dallas and 250 miles north of Corpus Christi, on November 22, 1995. Saldivar received the maximum sentence and will be eligible for parole in March 2025. Her lawyers have attempted to appeal her case twice in October 3, 1998 and August 19, 1999, however both retrials were denied, according to Houston Chronicle.

In March 2025, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied parole for the convicted killer. “After a thorough consideration of all available information, which included any confidential interviews conducted, it was the parole panel’s determination to deny parole to Yolanda Saldivar and set her next parole review for March 2030,” the Board of Pardons and Paroles said in a statement.

After the premiere of Selena y Los Dinos on Netflix, viewers may be curious to know what Selena Quintanilla’s net worth was when she was alive.

Selena Quintanilla-Perez was born in Lake Jackson, Texas, on April 16, 1971. She has two older siblings, A.B. Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla, who were members of her band, Selena y Los Dinos, before the group became known mononymously as Selena. Selena released her first single, “Contigo Quiero Estar,” with EMI Latin in 1989, but it was her 1992 smash hit, “Como la Flor,” that made her the Queen of Tejano music we remember today. The single peaked at number 6 on the U.S. Latin Chart. Afterward, Selena followed the song with hits like “Amor Prohibido,” “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “No Me Queda Más” and “Fotos y Recuerdos,” which all reached number 1 on the U.S. Latin Chart. In 1994, Selena won her first and only Grammy for Best Mexican/American Album for her 1993 LP Live!.

Selena died in March 1995 at the age of 23 when she was shot and killed by Yolanda Saldivar, her friend and the former president of her fan club. Saldivar was also the manager for her boutiques, Selena Etc. After her death, Selena’s family released her posthumous crossover album, Dreaming of You, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. Selena’s life and career have also inspired several TV shows and movies, most famously Jennifer Lopez’s 1997 film, Selena, and Netflix’s 2020 TV show, Selena: The Series, which stars The Walking Dead alum Christian Serrato as the late Tejano legend.

“It was very sad too because she’s not here, and so it was those little moments, like, this was really cool and then you realize that she’s not here. She’s the one not part of this trio anymore,” Suzette, who is an executive producer on Selena: The Series, told Entertainment Tonight in 2020. “It had a lot of mixed emotions, if anything. I’m forever grateful and I’m grateful for the platform Netflix is able to give us, to be able to talk about this series. I don’t think that a lot of people realize that this type of platform is not given to everyone, especially us as Mexican-Americans.”

What is Selena Quintanilla’s net worth?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Selena was worth $10 million at the time of her death in 1995. Her net worth included sales from her solo albums
, 1989’s Selena, 1990’s Ven Conmigo, 1992’s Entre a Mi Mundo and 1994’s Amor Prohibido, as well as her posthumous LP released in 1995, Dreaming of You. Along with her music, Selena was also the founder of Selena Etc., a boutique in Corpus Christi, Texas. There were also plans for her to open another boutique in Monterrey, Mexico. The store closed in 2009.