Selena's family says decision to deny her killer parole 'reaffirms that justice continues to stand'

Selena’s household is “grateful” that the young singer’s killer, Yolanda Saldívar, was denied parole Thursday successful Texas.

Saldívar, 64, is serving a beingness condemnation for the March 31, 1995, execution that took spot astatine a Corpus Christi edifice aft the singer, whose past sanction was Quintanilla-Pérez, accused person Saldívar of embezzling $30,000. The older pistillate had been president of the Selena instrumentality nine and manager of the singer’s Selena Etc. boutiques.

The Quintanilla household and Chris Pérez, the guitarist who secretly joined Selena successful 1992, seemed pleased with the determination to contradict parole, penning connected societal media, “Today, we are grateful.” They said they were celebrating Selena’s life, alternatively than remembering her murder.

The parole committee said successful documents obtained Thursday by The Times that the sidesplitting had “elements of brutality, violence, assaultive behaviour oregon conscious enactment of victim’s vulnerability indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, oregon spot of others, specified that the offender poses a continuing menace to nationalist safety.”

“While thing tin bring Selena back,” the household continued, “this determination reaffirms that justness continues to basal for the beauteous beingness that was taken from america and from millions of fans astir the satellite acold excessively soon.”

Saldívar’s lawsuit is eligible for different parole reappraisal — successful Texas, a broad valuation involving interviews and behavioral reviews — successful 2030.

“Selena’s bequest is 1 of love, music, and inspiration. She lived with joy, gave selflessly, and continues to uplift generations with her dependable and her spirit,” the Quintanillas and Pérez wrote. “As her household and loved ones, we stay committed to preserving her representation and ensuring that her communicative is honored with the dignity and respect it deserves.”

Fans’ support, they said, had been a root of spot and healing implicit the years.

The Tejana popular superstar was astir to grounds her archetypal English-language crossover medium erstwhile she was changeable successful the backmost by Saldívar astatine a Corpus Christi Days Inn. “Dreaming of You” was released posthumously successful July 1995.

Jennifer Lopez starred successful “Selena,” the 1997 movie astir the singer, and successful 2020, Netflix debuted “Selena: The Series,” a two-season, 18-episode bid looking astatine her emergence to fame with the household band, Los Dinos, and her murder.

In 2024, the Oxygen web released “Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them,” a two-part documentary incorporating Saldívar’s mentation of events. The second was done without the family’s OK.

Most recently, the documentary “Selena y Los Dinos,” featuring location movies changeable by older sister Suzette Quintanilla, impressed audiences astatine the Sundance Film Festival successful January.

Selena fans weren’t blessed astir “Selena & Yolanda.” “It’s precise wide to maine that [the filmmakers are] giving a batch of value to Yolanda’s allegations,” “Anything for Selena” podcast big Maria Elena Garcia told The Times successful 2024. referencing promotions for the documentary. “Empty allegations that she has been making for virtually decades. To me, that’s incredibly irresponsible, unethical and, frankly, conscionable distasteful.”

Earlier this month, a Saldívar household subordinate told the New York Post that Saldívar knows what she did was incorrect but maintains that Selena came astatine her “really aggressively.”

“She was truthful thrown disconnected with however forceful Selena was being; everything happened truthful fast,” the household subordinate said. “If Selena had confronted her differently, this ne'er would person happened.”

Saldívar’s defence squad alleged astatine proceedings successful October 1995 that she changeable Selena by mishap and that Corpus Christi constabulary who questioned her ne'er mentioned that claim.

During a nine-hour standoff astatine the edifice wherever Selena was shot, Saldívar told constabulary negotiators that she told the vocalist she had bought a .38-caliber revolver to termination herself, the Associated Press reported successful 1995.

“She told me: ‘Yolanda, I don’t privation you to termination yourself.’ She opened the door. When I told her to adjacent it, the weapon went off,” Saldívar said. The taped speech was played astatine trial.

Saldívar did not attest astatine proceedings aft a justice denied a petition that she attest lone astir her interactions with police. However, respective edifice employees testified that they saw a calm Saldívar with the weapon pursuing a screaming, bleeding Selena, the AP said.

Times unit writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.