Revisiting Selena Quintanilla’s Tragic Death: Why Was She Killed?
A look at the death and the after-life legacy of famous singer Selena Quintanilla.
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Popular American singer-songwriter Selena Quintanilla was killed by a fan on March 31, 1995. Her killer Yolanda Saldivar was charged with first-degree murder and is currently serving her life imprisonment penalty in Mountain View Unit, a women's prison in Gatesville, Texas.
Quintanilla was shot at the back of her neck by Saldivar at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, a coastal city in the South Texas region. The singer died in a hospital as a result of excessive blood loss.
As per Dr. Louis Elkins, who attended to her wounded body, the Grammy-winning singer's "brain was not functioning. She was clinically brain dead."
"It was a futile effort," recalled the doctor during an interview with AP.
Why Was Selena Quintanilla Murdered?
Saldivar was once a huge fan of country music and often used to attend Quintanilla's concerts. The former nurse approached Quintanilla's father multiple times to start a Quintanilla fan club in San Antonio.
On repeated request, Quintanilla's father, Abraham Quintanilla, accepted the proposal. In the fan club, Saldivar was given the role of the club's president.
Soon after, she started to look after Quintanilla's clothing boutiques in a managerial capacity. The boutiques were collectively known as Selena Etc. and included a boutique, salon, and clothing store. It was based in Texas.
The beauty business came into existence on January 27, 1994. Interestingly, in 1995, Quintanilla's family found that Saldivar held the singer's business assets and incomes in her name.
The family requested Saldivar to come to a meeting to audit the books and settle the account. However, Saldivar kept refusing the proposal and cited numerous reasons, and did not show up.
On March 31, 1995, Quintanilla asked Saldivar to visit her in a motel South of Texas. Here, Saldivar shot the singer using her .38 Taurus Model 85 revolver, commonly known as a cowboy gun.
As per records, the time of the murder is cited to be at 11:48 a.m. Quintanilla's funeral took place at Corpus Christi, Seaside Memorial Park, Texas, where the singer now rests at peace.
The famous Tejano music icon died at age 23. However, her legacy is still kept alive by her avid fans and music lovers.
The Legacy Of Selena Quintanilla
After the death of the beloved singer, her family released Quintanilla's English album 'Dreaming of You' on July 18, 1995. The album sold more than 300,000 copies in just a week.
Quintanilla's album, which was released after her death, made further history when it debuted at the number 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and, in doing so, became the first album by a Hispanic singer to reach the feat.
In 2017, she was immortalized at the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. In honor of the late singer, fans in her hometown of Corpus Cristi in Texas celebrated a special two-day festival called Fiesta de la Flor regularly from 2015 to 2020.
Streaming giant Netflix gave its touch on her legacy when, on December 4, 2020, they released a TV series titled Selena: The Series.
After the first season's conclusion, Netflix released a sequel to the show titled Selena The Series Season 2 on May 4, 2021.