Murder of Selena

The murder of American singer Selena Quintanilla happened on March 31, 1995. Fans were saddened when the news of her death was released by the media. She was shot dead by Yolanda Saldivar. Saldivar was an employee and manager for Selena's boutiques and fan club and was found to have been embezzling money.

Selena did not believe her best friend could do something like that and tried to maintain their friendship. However, by March, 1995 Saldivar and Selena's friendship had begun to crumble. Selena and her husband Chris Pérez visited Saldívar on 30 March 1995 to get the documents that she had stolen. Saldívar did not give Selena all the documents. On the morning of 31 March 1995, Selena met up with Saldívar to collect paperwork and missing documents for tax preparations.^[1] At the hotel, Selena demanded that Saldívar give her the missing financial papers.^[2] Saldívar then claimed that she was raped in Mexico. Selena took her to a local hospital where doctors found that Saldívar was lying.^[3] This made Selena decide to end her friendship with Saldívar. When Selena went to close the door, Saldivar took a gun from her purse and held Selena at gunpoint. In order to stop her from closing the door, she pulled the trigger and shot Selena in the back. Selena was taken to a local hospital, but was declared dead. Saldivar went to her pickup truck and threatened suicide, but gave herself up after nine hours.

Saldivar pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder, claiming that the shooting was an accident. However, she was found guilty by jury and sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 2025. A lot of tributes were done throughout the United States and Mexico. Two life-sized statues were made in her honor. A 1997 movie was produced by Warner Bros.. It starred Jennifer Lopez as her breakthrough role.

Selena's death has been compared to those of Elvis Presley and John Lennon.^[source?] Selena's death was called Black Friday by some Texans. George W. Bush declared April 16 as "Selena Day" in Texas. The event has gone on to become known as one of the darkest days in music history and helped to increase Selena's popularity in the United States.^[source?]

1. ↑ ""Testimony of Richard Fredrickson"". Archived from the original on 2007-04-05.. Houston Chronicle, 13 October 1995. Retrieved on 1 February 2008.
2. ↑ "Singer Selena, an idol of Mexican-Americans, dies of gunshot wounds". The Vindicator. 1 April 1995. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
3. ↑ ""October 12, 1995 testimony of Carla Anthony"". Archived from the original on 2007-04-05. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2007-04-06 suggested (help). Houston Chronicle, 12 October 1995. Retrieved on 21 May 2008.