Yolanda Saldívar Murdered Superstar Selena Quintanilla — Here's Where the Killer Is Now

It was a tale of two friends turned into a horror. One, a superstar with a golden voice and a promising career ahead. The other, an obsessive woman who felt as though her friendship was slipping through her fingers. They were superstar singer Selena Quintanilla and her once-friend-turned-murderer Yolanda Saldívar.

An altercation between the pair over Yolanda embezzling money led to Saldívar murdering Selena at a hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 31, 1995.

After taking Selena's life, she held authorities at bay for nearly 10 hours by holding a gun to her own temple, expressing her regret for what she had done and claiming she had intended to take her own life, not Selena's.

But a jury didn't believe her remorse and she was convicted of murder on Oct. 23, 1995, after a swift 11-day trial and just three hours of deliberation. Although her life was cut short, Selena's legacy endures. By contrast, here's where Saldívar is now.

Saldívar's conviction was swift. A jury was sworn in on Oct. 9, 1995, and the trial began on Oct. 12. On Oct. 23, the verdict was delivered: guilty of first-degree murder. In Texas, this sentence carries a mandatory 30 years to life.

Saldívar has been serving that sentence at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, TX. And things haven't been going so well for her.

She is known as the woman who murdered the beloved Tejano singer, so former inmates who served their sentences alongside Saldívar say she has a target painted on her back.

According to The New York Post, Marisol Lopez served alongside her from 2017 to 2022 and explains, "Everyone knows who Yolanda Saldívar is. There’s a bounty on her head, like everyone wants a piece of her. The guards keep her away from everyone else, because she’s hated so much. If she were out [in general population], someone would try to take her down.”

And after serving 30 years of her life sentence, Saldívar aims to see parole in 2025. If she were to be granted release, Saldívar has said she will live with relatives and will get a job.

It's hard to say whether Saldívar meant Selena harm when she took her life that day or whether, as she claims, it was a tragic accident. But one thing is clear: Fans don't care how many years the singer has been gone, they will always remember her fondly.

This was perhaps most evident in 2017 when, 22 years after her death, Selena was awarded a star on the Walk of Fame.

During the ceremony awarding her the posthumous star, actor Eva Longoria stood to speak on the impact Selena had in her life. Per Time she explained, "Growing up there was no reflection of me on TV or in music and that all changed with Selena y Los Dinos. Selena was a small town girl with a big heart … and that small town was my hometown, Corpus Christi, Texas."

While only Selena and Saldívar know the truth of what really happened that day and what Saldívar's intentions were, one thing is clear: Selena's legacy endures. Despite the heartache of her loss, her name, her voice, and her memory remain a unique bright spot in a world so full of darkness.

Although her loss was tragic, her legacy isn't tainted by how she died but rather uplifted by how she lived.