“Justice continues to stand”: Selena Quintanilla’s family reacts as killer Yolanda Saldívar denied parole

Selena Quintanilla-Perez’s killer, Yolanda Saldívar, has been denied parole, nearly 30 years after she shot her dead.

According to a report in the Associated Press, she will continue to serve a life sentence for the fatal crime at least for five more years, according to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, who stated it in a press release on March 27, 2025.

Saldívar was reportedly the founder of the singer’s fan club. She killed her after a confrontation occurred between them at a motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 31, 1995. As a result, she was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Tejano icon’s husband, Chris Pérez, reacted to the news via a lengthy post on his Instagram. Expressing his gratitude for the board, he wrote:

“Today, we are grateful that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has chosen to deny parole for Yolanda Saldívar. While nothing can bring Selena back, this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon.”

In the post, he and Selena’s family further thanked her “fans for their unwavering support throughout the years,” indicating that their love has been “a source of strength and healing.”

Salvidar is now 64 and has been imprisoned at the Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville for the brutal murder of the Mexican-American artist. According to a report in Today, she filed for parole in January, as stated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice online records, but was denied parole. Here is what we know about her case.

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What else do we know about Selena Quintanilla's husband and the case?

According to the press release by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, they said in a statement on March 27, 2025,

“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.”

The statement added,

"The reason provided by the panel for denial was the Nature of the Offense: The record indicates that the instant offense has elements of brutality, violence, assaultive behavior or conscious selection of victim’s vulnerability indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others, such that the offender poses a continuing threat to public safety.”

Selena Quintanilla, famously known as the “Queen of Tejano Music,” rose to fame in the late 1980s. Born in Freeport, Texas, in 1971, she began singing when she was just nine years old, along with her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, a report in The New York Times stated.

She met her husband, Chris Pérez, as a guitarist when he joined her band in 1990. They eloped on April 2, 1992, and got married, according to a report in Parade. The report suggested that her father was not supportive of their relationship due to Pérez’s rocker lifestyle; they feared it would tarnish her public image.

"I'm sure that to Abraham I was a stereotype, a ponytailed, beer-drinking hard rock guitarist in a Tejano disguise."

Pérez wrote in his memoir, titled To Selena, with Love. After her tragic death, he didn’t eat for days and turned to drugs and alcohol, he wrote in his memoir.

In the 2021 documentary episode True Hollywood Story: Death of Innocence, Chris told E! Entertainment that her death was the “hardest thing” he had to deal with. He told the outlet,

“I miss her face, her laughter. She was just an amazing soul, an amazing spirit. She taught me a lot. I used to never tell people I love them ... or I miss them, or just give them gifts just because. I learned those things and many, many other things from her.”

He later married Venessa Villanueva in 2001 but divorced in 2008. They share two children, daughter Cassie and son Noah.

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