Singer Selena’s killer speaks out in new documentary series

Selena Quintanilla – dubbed the Queen of Tejano music – was killed by her business manager, Yolanda Saldívar, on 31 March 1995

Selena Quintanilla’s killer Yolanda Saldívar has claimed she intends to “set the record straight” in a new documentary that delves into the events leading up to the death of the beloved Queen of Tejano music.

Saldívar’s interviews from behind bars are featured in Oxygen True Crime’s Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them.

In the two-part series, Saldívar, 63, reiterates her version of the events that unfolded on 31 March 1995.

Saldívar said she had brought the gun with her inside a Corpus Christi hotel room to kill herself, but Selena had then reportedly tried to persuade her against pulling the trigger. The disgraced business manager alleges that she fired the shot that killed Selena by mistake because she was “hysterical.”

“Selena, when she came into the [hotel] room, she kept trying to put guilt in me for not continuing with her, and how everything was going to crumble,” Saldívar said in the series. “My emotions were running so high, and I was hurting.”

Saldívar was convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison. Next year, she will be eligible for parole.

Selena’s father Abraham Quintanilla has criticised the docuseries, labelling Saldívar’s remarks “nothing but lies,” according to TMZ.

Selena popularised the “Tex-Mex” genre in the early 90s, a seamless blending of contemporary American pop with the passionate vocal approach of Mexico’s folk tradition. Quintanilla went on to become a beloved crossover artist, hailed as a multicultural role model until her tragic death at age 23 brought an abrupt end to a promising career.

Saldívar ran Quintanilla’s chain of merchandise boutiques and was known to be fiercely devoted to the pop star.

Shortly before Selena’s death, her father confronted Saldivar over the mismanagement of the family’s retail operations. It emerged around that time that she had embezzled $30,000 – taking fan club membership fees from young girls and sending nothing in return.

Selena eventually confronted Saldivar over the return of the business’s financial records. In the argument that followed, Salvidar shot and killed Selena before fleeing, inspiring a dramatic police chase before she was eventually arrested.