Selena Quintanilla’s Family expressed their gratitude after her killer Yolanda Saldivar was denied parole in Texas on Thursday.
Saldivar, 64, is serving a life sentence for the March 1995 murder of the Tejano music superstar. She won’t be eligible for parole again until 2030.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole said, “After a thorough consideration of all available information, which included any confidential interviews conducted, it was the parole panels determination to deny parole to Yolanda Saldivar and set her next parole review for March 2030.”
Selena was 23 years old when Saldívar, then 34, shot her during a meeting at a Days Inn Hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 31, 1995.
Selena and her family had accused Saldivar of stealing more than $30,000 from a fan club and clothing boutique she managed for Selena.
The singer arranged a meeting with Saldivar at the hotel to retrieve financial records. Selena planned to fire Saldivar for stealing money from her Selena Etc. boutiques.
Saldivar was the founder and president of Selena’s fan club.
During the meeting, Saldivar claimed she had been raped in Mexico. Selena drove Saldivar to a local hospital, where they were told that the gynecological exam had to be done elsewhere, because the assault had allegedly happened in another country.
When they returned to the hotel room, Saldivar produced a gun and shot Selena in the back as the singer attempted to flee the room. Selena screamed and ran to the hotel lobby where she collapsed. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Police found Saldivar sitting in her car in the hotel parking lot. She threatened to shoot herself, as the news spread of Selena’s murder.
A large crowd of Selena’s grieving fans gathered nearby as police negotiated with Saldivar to surrender.
Saldivar insisted Selena was the aggressor who charged at her when the gun went off in the hotel room. The former registered nurse claims she didn’t intend to kill Selena.
She is currently serving a life sentence at the Patrick O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas.
Saldivar has spent the last 30 years in solitary confinement away from Selena’s fans in the general population in prison.
Selena won the Grammy for the best Mexican American album in 1994. Her track “Como La Flor” (1992) became her signature hit.
“I Could Fall In Love,” released posthumously in 1995, endeared her music to Spanish and English-speaking audiences alike.
Selena’s brother, Abraham Quintanilla III, is pictured in 2016 at the unveiling of his sister’s wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Hollywood.
In 1997, Warner Bros. released the film “Selena”, starring former “In Living Color” dancer Jennifer Lopez in her breakout performance.
