What happened to Selena Quintanilla's killer 31 years after her murder

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a singer who was thought of as one of the music industry's most successful and influential Latin artists. The singer was even at one point labeled the 'Tejano Madonna'. 

At the height of her fame, Selena's work made up over 50% of Latin music sales and was noted for reviving the genre during the 1990's music scene.

Selena was the first Latin artist to have an album debut at number one on the Billboard charts, and she even made history at the Grammys in 1994 when she was awarded Best Mexican/American Album.

Yolanda, born on September 19, 1960, in San Antonio, Texas, was a registered nurse before she met Selena and became the president of her fan club.

The pair eventually became friends, and Yolanda was promoted to manager of Selena's clothing boutiques, Selena Etc.

However, she soon became difficult to work with, according to Selena's fashion designer, Martin Gomez, who admitted he was "very afraid of Yolanda."

"She'd get, like, very angry if you crossed her,” he told The Washington Post. "She would play so many mind games, say people had said things they hadn't said."

He added: "The last call I had with Selena, the last call, I told her to be careful. It was very weird. I was very afraid of Yolanda. But I never thought she would hurt Selena. I never thought it would come to this."

Selena was just 23 years old when she was shot and killed by Yolanda on March 31, 1995.

Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr, who was her manager, started receiving complaints from fans regarding missing memorabilia and from other employees about Yolanda's poor work and their overdue payroll payments.

Yolanda was confronted by Selena and her family, who accused her of embezzling money from the fan club and boutiques. As a result, she was fired.

On March 11, 1995, Yolanda applied for a permit to purchase a gun from a shop in San Antonio. She then bought a gun on March 26, five days before she fatally shot Selena in the back, severing an artery, in the Days Inn Motel in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

Paramedics arrived at the scene quickly, and she was taken to the hospital, but Selena was later pronounced dead after suffering severe blood loss and cardiac arrest. 

After Yolanda was arrested, she pleaded not guilty, claiming that shooting Selena was an accident and that she was trying to take her own life, according to her defense attorneys.

Yolanda was charged with first-degree murder and went on trial on October 9, 1995. It took two weeks, and at the end, she was found guilty of murder. On October 26, she was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Yolanda was denied parole on March 27, 2025, by a three-person Texas parole board, which claimed she "poses a continuing threat to public safety" and that her crime showed "a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others."

She is currently serving out her sentence at the Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit prison in Gatesville, Texas.

Yolanda hasn't given many interviews, but in 1995, she told ABC's 20/20: "They made me out to be a monster, and I just want to say, I did not kill Selena. It was an accident, and my conscience is clear."

Yolanda will be eligible again for early parole in March 2030.