Fan Club Manager Kills Selena Over Embezzlement Scheme
Selena (Selena Quintanilla Perez) was a Tejano singer from Texas who grew to international fame and became known as ‘The Queen of Tejano Music”. Despite her young age, she became on of the most influential Latin artists of all time.
Selena recorded her first record at 13, and as her fame grew, her father realized that she had some very dedicated followers. Preeminent among her acolytes was a San Antonio nurse named Yolanda Saldivar. Saldivar contacted Selena’s father repeatedly about becoming president of Selena’s Official Fan Club. Her father acquiesced, and the two reached a financial agreement.
Yolanda became more ingrained in Selena’s business ventures. In 1994, she was named manager of a pair of clothing and beauty boutiques that Selena had opened. At one point she was even granted access to the singer’s bank accounts.
Employees of the boutiques began to complain of Yolanda Saldivar’s cantankerous management style. Soon the popular boutiques were having trouble staying open due to a lack of employees. Selena and her family decided to go in another direction and replace Yolanda at the boutique. When new management looked at the company’s books they found numerous discrepancies. Yolanda had been embezzling money from the business.
A review of the Selena Official Fan Club found similar fraud by Yolanda. After being confronted by Selena at a Corpus Cristi hotel on March 31, 1995, Yolanda initially claimed that she had been raped in an attempt to divert attention from her fraud accusations. When that story fell through, Yolanda pulled a .38 caliber Taurus revolver from her purse and shot Selena once in the back. Rushed to the hospital bleeding profusely, Selena was pronounced dead at 1:05p.m.
Yolanda Saldivar tried to flee the scene of the shooting in her truck. A responding police officer saw her and attempted a car stop. The officer managed to block in her vehicle against parked cars and a standoff began. In a nine hour standoff managed by FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit members, Yolanda admitted to the shooting and surrendered.
Yolanda Saldivar was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. She is eligible for parole in 2025.
Christopher Flanagan
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