Where is Yolanda Saldivar now? Selena's killer who was obsessed with singer could be out of jail in 4 years

Yolanda Saldivar left her job as a nurse to run a fan club of the pop star and she claims that Selena often used to call her 'mom'
PUBLISHED MAY 4, 2021
Natasha Perez stars as Yolanda Saldivar in 'Selena: The Series' (Netflix)
Natasha Perez stars as Yolanda Saldivar in 'Selena: The Series' (Netflix)

Yolanda Saldivar's story is the quintessential one of obsessive love gone wrong. Saldivar may have seemed much older than Selena, who was only 23 when she died, but in fact, Saldivar was just 11 years older. Clearly, the age gap seemed larger to Selena, who according to Salvidar, would call her 'mom'. Salvidar was a nurse and she was known for her nurturing nature. She adopted three children, one of whom was her niece, and she worked several jobs to be able to provide for them.

She came into Selena's life when she founded the Selena Fan Club, which was such a huge success that she eventually quit her job as a nurse to run the club full-time. In 1994, she was asked to run Selena's two boutiques in Texas and became a trusted member of Selena's inner circle. But those closest to Selena were already seeing red flags.

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Yolanda Salvidar shot Latin pop star Selena (Facebook)

For one, Saldivar's home was less of a home and more of a shrine to Selena. Also, Saldivar was allegedly vindictive with anyone who she believed would come between her and Selena. Martin Gomez, who was a fashion designer for Selena's boutiques, in an interview to The Washington Post said about Saldivar, "She was very vindictive. She was very possessive of Selena. She'd get, like, very angry if you crossed her. She would play so many mind games, say people had said things they hadn't said. So many things would happen to the clothing I was working on. I knew that I had finished a certain piece, but I would come back from a trip to New York and the hems would be ripped out. It was very strange." However, no one obviously suspected that Yolanda would ever harm Selena.

However, that, unfortunately, did not turn out to be the case. It came to the attention of the Quintanilla family in 1995 that Salvidar was embezzling funds from the Selena enterprises she managed. Selena's father on March 9, 1995, told Salvidar that he was going to the police and an investigation would be made into the embezzlement.

Fans of Selena and Latin music wait at the 'Selena Vive' tribute concert, April 7, 2005, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas (Getty Images)

By March 31, when Selena went to retrieve some documents from Saldivar, it was clear that Selena's former fan was already feeling cornered. The two reportedly had a heated argument before Saldivar shot Selena in the back. According to the staffers at the Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi where the singer met Yolanda, Selena's last words were, "Yolanda... Room 158". While Selena was declared dead just two hours later, Saldivar was arrested after a 10-hour stand-off with the police, during which she held a gun to her head, threatening to kill herself.

While Yolanda has maintained that she shot Selena by accident, she was found guilty of first-degree murder. Saldívar, who is now 60 years old, is currently serving her life sentence at the Mountain View Unit, a maximum-security women's prison in Gatesville, TX. However, she'll be eligible for parole in 2025. Will Yolanda walk free and what impact will that have on Selena's family and fans? To find out more about Yolanda Salvidar's relationship with Selena, you can watch part two of 'Selena: The Series' premiering on Netflix on May 4.

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