Selena Quintanilla's Killer Yolanda Saldivar Files for Parole

Yolanda Saldívar has filed a petition for parole nearly 30 years after she shot and killed Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla at a Corpus Christi motel. 

The 64-year-old is currently going through the parole review process, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's online records. She is housed at the Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas.

Saldívar shot and killed the Mexican-American singer at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas on March 31, 1995. Selena Quintanilla was able to drag herself to the motel lobby and identify Saldívar as the shooter before succumbing to her wounds at a nearby hospital. She was 23.

Following the killing, Quintanilla's family said that Saldívar had shot the 23-year-old singer in a fit of anger after being fired from her roles as a fan club president and manager for the singer's stores, allegedly due to Saldívar embezzling funds. 

However, in the three-part Oxygen documentary Selena and Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them, Saldívar denied the Quintanilla family's characterization of the incident, saying that she accidentally shot Selena Quintanilla during a heated conversation. Saldívar also denied that she was responsible for the missing funds.

"My emotions were running so high, and I was hurting," Saldívar said in the documentary.

A Harris County jury ultimately found her guilty of first-degree murder and she was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

What's next for Yolanda Saldívar

Selena Quintanilla and Yolanda Saldivar. Photo: Oxygen

Inmates eligible for parole are able to initiate the review process up to four months before a board votes on their petition, according to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Once a petition is filed, "notice is sent to trial officials, victims, and victim family members."

Saldívar will also be interviewed by a parole officer, who will then make a summary of the case and submit it to a parole panel consisting of three voting members. The parole panel may choose to separately interview Saldívar or other individuals in support of or against her release.

It's required that the victim's family is given the opportunity to speak to the parole panel, if requested.

Saldívar's parole review date is set for March 30, according to NBC News. 

Where to watch Selena and Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them

Watch the three-part limited series Selena and Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them, streaming now on Oxygen.com and Peacock.