Yolanda Saldívar Met Selena Quintanilla the Way Many People Did — She Was a Fan First
By Jennifer TisdaleFeb. 6 2024, Published 7:03 p.m. ET
In March 1995, Yolanda Saldívar referred to as her former boss and friend Selena Quintanilla over to the Days Inn hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she was staying. Saldívar's dating with the popular Tejano singer used to be fractured and she was doing everything she may just to keep Quintanilla in her existence. An argument erupted between the two which ended in Saldívar taking pictures Selena.
According to The New York Times, Saldívar "kept police at bay for nearly 10 hours as she sat in a red pickup truck in the motel parking lot with a gun pointed at her temple." She time and again mentioned it was an accident; she did no longer imply to kill her pal. Seven months later Saldívar could be found responsible of first-degree murder and gained a lifestyles sentence. So, how did Yolanda meet Selena? Here's what we all know.
How did Yolanda meet Selena? She started the singer's first fan club.
Saldívar reached out to Selena's father Abraham Quintanilla and begged him to let her start a fan club. "She was really persistent," he informed A&E. "I thought it was a good idea. Even though I didn't know this person, she sounded sincere. So I gave her my blessing." Soon Saldívar used to be quitting her job as a nurse with a view to run the fan club full-time as its president.
While her music occupation used to be taking off, Quintanilla was additionally specializing in her hobby for model. She launched her own clothes design and unfolded two boutiques in Texas. One was in Corpus Christi and the opposite used to be situated in San Antonio. Saldívar was excelling as Quintanilla's fan club president which is why Selena's father concept she would be an excellent store supervisor at probably the most boutiques. Quintanilla agreed and requested Saldívar to manage them both.
"To be honest, we liked Yolanda," explained Abraham. "We invited her to eat at our house." Their affection for Saldívar is what made her betrayal the entire more brutal. Things took a darkish turn when Quinanilla and her father learned Saldívar was once embezzling money from the boutiques. Also, "several fans had complained that they had sent in their $22 but had never received the promised T-shirt, CD, picture or biography," consistent with Texas Monthly. After Saldivar used to be confronted, she bought the gun later used to kill Quintanilla.
Due to public outcry, Saldívar had bother finding a legal professional.
Douglas Tinker, an attorney in Texas, took the case realizing that it might be just about impossible to win. On April 6, 1995, Saldívar was once indicted via a grand jury for first-degree homicide. She then pleaded not in charge in spite of admitting to the capturing in a signed confession. Going into the case, Tinker did not suppose Saldívar stood a chance till certain discrepancies have been revealed. During her interrogation, Saldívar told police that the taking pictures used to be an twist of fate but that knowledge by no means made its method into the confession.
Then a Texas Ranger by the title of Robert Garza came forward with alarming information about Saldívar's interrogation. He was once status out of doors of the room while she was once being wondered and heard her repeatedly inform police it used to be an twist of fate. Soon it was once revealed that government recorded Saldívar's conversation with legislation enforcement immediately after the shooting. In the recording she is heard pronouncing a number of times that, "It was an accident."
The state's case relied heavily on Saldívar's obsessive conduct toward Selena. In the months main as much as the homicide, Saldívar began appearing as a bodyguard for the Tejano singer. Once she was fired and frozen out of the family, Saldívar's fixation with Quintanilla ramped up. She time and again invented reasons to peer the singer. On her remaining evening alive, Quintanilla picked up financial institution statements from Saldívar at the lodge.
In the midst of their argument on that final night time, Saldívar demanded Quintanilla return a ring she used to be proficient via the boutique staff. For some reason that set Saldívar off. While Quintanilla was commencing the hoop, Saldívar pulled out the gun and screamed, "You b----!" as Quintanilla ran for the door. The final word Quintanilla said was once, "Yolanda," to the 911 operator as she slipped away.
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