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Netflix’s 2025 documentary selena and dinosaurs Explore pop icons Selena QuintanillaMurdered by her former friend and business partner Yolanda Saldivar.
Quintanilla, the “Queen of Tejano Music,” was shot to death in Corpus Christi, Texas, in March 1995 at the age of 23. Saldivar, once a trusted friend and fan club president of Quintanilla, was accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from the musician’s business in the months before the shooting.
After public outcry over Quintanilla’s death, the Nueces County, Texas, medical examiner agreed to conduct an autopsy just three hours after the singer’s death. The coroner’s report ultimately ruled Quintanilla’s death a homicide, although Saldivar claimed the shooting was accidental.
The coroner’s report provides fascinating details of Quintanilla’s final confrontation with Saldivar, when their disagreement erupted into deadly violence.
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Keep scrolling to learn more about Quintanilla’s death and the results of the autopsy.
Why did Yolanda Saldivar kill Selena?
Yolanda Saldívar started out as a fan of Selena Quintanilla. She later convinced her musician father to Abraham Quintanillaled her to start a fan club in San Antonio, Texas, after seeing Selena in concert.
As Quintanilla’s fan club became successful, Saldivar developed a close friendship with her. In 1994, she was hired as manager of her family’s Selena Etc boutique in Corpus Christi.
Saldivar’s personal and professional relationship with the Quintanilla family soured in early 1995 when they discovered that Saldivar had embezzled thousands of dollars from fan clubs and boutiques. In March 1995, Saldivar was fired from the store and took over as president of the Selena Fan Club.
A few weeks before the murder, Saldivar purchased and returned a Taurus Model 85 .38-caliber revolver at a San Antonio shooting range. (Saldivar later repurchased the weapon shortly before the murder.)
Saldivar checked into a Days Inn on March 30, where she contacted Selena and claimed she had been raped. Saldivar reportedly begged Selena to visit her alone in her hotel room so she could hand over her financial records.
Later that day, Selena took her husband, Chris PerezDespite Saldivar’s pleas for her to come to the Days Inn alone, she attended the meeting. Perez agreed to wait by their car, and after they left the meeting, Selena discovered that Saldivar had not given her the proper paperwork.
On March 31, 2025, Selena told business partners Leonard Huang She planned to meet with Saldivar again to retrieve perfume samples and correct financial records.
Later that day, when Selena returned to the Days Inn, she agreed to take Saldivar to the hospital for a rape exam. Eventually, medical officials informed the women that tests needed to be done elsewhere.
Selena and Saldivar then returned to the Days Inn.
How did Selena Quintanilla die?
Back at the hotel, Selena again demanded Saldivar turn over her financial records. Saldivar then pulled out a Taurus 85 .38 caliber revolver and shot Selina in the shoulder.
The injured Selena desperately ran to the hotel lobby to seek help, but Saldivar chased her and shouted insults. At approximately 1:05 pm local time on March 31, 1995, Selena was taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, Saldivar was involved in a standoff with police in the Days Inn parking lot when he refused to get out of his vehicle. Saldivar initially threatened to commit suicide and eventually turned herself in to FBI agents after a ten-hour standoff.
Selena Quintanilla
ARA ZIEMBA/AFP via Getty ImagesSaldivar has been charged with first-degree murder, but has pleaded not guilty. At trial, Saldivar maintained that the shooting was an accident. In October 1995, she was found guilty.
In October 1995, Saldivar was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She is currently serving her sentence at a women’s prison in Gatesville, Texas.
Saldiva do seek parole December 2024, but her request was denied March 2025. As of the time of publication, she remains in jail.
What did Selena Quintanilla’s autopsy reveal about her cause of death?
Due to the overwhelming public interest in the case, the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office in Texas agreed to an emergency autopsy just three hours after Selena’s death.
US Weekly The original report from 1995 was obtained, confirming that Selena died of a gunshot wound to her lower right shoulder. Selena’s death was ruled a homicide.
The coroner determined her cause of death was “internal and external blood loss (haemorrhage) due to (a) perforating gunshot wound to the chest.”
Coroner Lloyd White added: “It is my opinion that the cause of death of 23-year-old female Selena Quintanilla Pérez was excessive internal and external bleeding, in other words, massive haemorrhage from a perforating gunshot wound to the chest.”
According to the coroner’s report, the bullet entered Selena’s back. The bullet’s path was from the ribs to the “upper lobe” and then penetrated the “chest wall.” An exit wound was found on the “upper right chest.”
The coroner determined that the path of the bullet severely injured Selena’s subclavian artery, causing her death. The coroner also noted that the clothing Selena was wearing when she died had “blood stains in many areas.”
