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Selena Quintanilla-Pérez's murderer speaks out in a new documentary a year before her probation deadline.
Yolanda Saldivar, once the late star's girlfriend and president of her fan club, took part in a new prison interview featured in the Oxygen documentary “Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them.”
The special also includes interviews with Saldivar's family, the hostage taker who responded to the scene, investigators and prosecutors.
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The 63-year-old is eligible for parole on March 30, 2025, almost 30 years after the Grammy winner was murdered.
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Tejano star Selena (left) watches as Yolanda Saldivar addresses a crowd at a 1994 Tejano Music Awards afterparty in San Antonio, Texas. Saldivar shot Selena in a Corpus Christi motel room on March 31, 1995. (AP)
“I think it’s time to set the record straight,” Saldivar said in the docuseries. “And I think people deserve to know the truth.”
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The special has already caused outrage among many of the Tejano legend's fans on social media, as well as her father Abraham Quintanilla. The patriarch, interviewed by TMZ, called the documentary “nothing but lies” and stressed that the family was not involved.
“No one is going to believe what she has to say,” the 84-year-old told the outlet. “Everyone knows that nothing that comes out of their mouths is true.”
The family of late Tejano singer Selena, who was shot by her former fan club president Yolanda Saldivar. From left: husband Chris Perez, parents Marcela and Abraham Quintanilla AND siblings AB and Suzette. (Barbara Laing)
A spokesperson for Quintanilla as well as the singer's brother, producer AB Quintanilla III and husband Chris Pérez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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In the documentary, shown by Fox News Digital before it aired, Saldivar claims she had no intention of killing Quintanilla-Pérez on March 31, 1995. Instead, she insisted that she wanted to end her own life, but the gun went off and hit her 23 years old instead.
“It scared me,” Saldivar said. “I didn’t know my gun had been fired. I didn't know she met her. It scared her, it scared me. There was never any intention to harm her.”
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Yolanda Saldivar, who is behind bars, speaks out in the new documentary “Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them.” (Oxygen)
“My decisions were my decisions, and the consequences were mine,” she said. “I’m sorry for all of this. If I could turn back time, if I could turn the clock, I think a lot of things wouldn’t be the way they are.” [are]. And I want people to know that I miss Selena as much as she does. So much. But I know I will see her again in heaven. I know I will. She doesn't deserve to die.
The singer-songwriter, known simply as “Selena” to her followers, has broken barriers for women in Latin music. Hailed as the “Mexican-American Madonna,” she opened the floodgates for a new generation of Latin artists who would later enjoy mainstream popularity. She was portrayed by Jennifer Lopez in the 1997 biopic Selena.
The singer was shot in a room at a Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Oxygen)
Quintanilla-Pérez was shot by Saldivar in a room at a Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas.
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The bullet shattered an artery in her collarbone before exiting her chest, the New York Post reported. According to the outlet, Quintanilla-Pérez managed to stumble into the hotel lobby and ask for help, leaving a nearly 400-foot-long trail of blood behind her.
Quintanilla-Pérez told hotel staff who her shooter was and where she could be found before she collapsed. She later died at Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital.
“Yolanda, room 158,” are said to have been Selena’s last words before her death. (Oxygen)
Saldivar tried to escape in her pickup truck. However, she was spotted by an officer in a patrol car, the outlet said. After a nearly ten-hour standoff, Saldivar surrendered.
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Quintanilla-Pérez was killed just two weeks before her 24th birthday.
“I’m so sorry she’s gone,” Saldivar said. “I’m so sorry her family is hurting. And I'm so sorry that my family is hurt. At no time did I intend to hurt anyone.”
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Selena receives a Grammy Award at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards on March 1, 1994 in New York. (Larry Busacca)
Saldivar allegedly killed Quintanilla-Pérez after her pal discovered she had allegedly embezzled $30,000 from her clothing boutiques. Two days after Quintanilla-Pérez confronted her, Saldivar applied for a permit to buy a gun at a San Antonio gun store, witnesses said.
In the documentary, Saldivar claimed she bought the gun to protect herself from Quintanilla-Pérez's father, whom she described as a threatening, domineering figure. Saldivar claims she showed Quintanilla-Pérez the gun and told her she needed to protect herself. However, she said the singer told her she would protect her from harm.
Saldivar also denied ever stealing from Quintanilla-Pérez.
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Jennifer Lopez portrayed Selena in a 1997 biopic. (Scott Del Amo/AFP)
“Why not? [her father] “He didn't press charges against me?” she said. “He didn’t do it because he had no evidence against me.”
That wasn't the only accusation Saldivar made in the special broadcast. She has long claimed that Quintanilla-Pérez had an affair with plastic surgeon Ricardo Martinez and that it was her responsibility to keep the relationship secret from her father and husband. She also insisted that Martinez saw her as a threat.
“She was looking for the love of another man,” Saldivar claimed. “And I covered it up. …I lied a lot. I maneuvered a lot.”
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Yolanda Saldivar was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 2025. (Oxygen)
The docs noted that Martinez could not be reached for comment.
Quintanilla-Pérez was already an established star when she hired Saldivar, a home health nurse in San Antonio who wasn't afraid to be a fan. After serving as president of Quintanilla-Pérez's fan club, she was promoted to manager of two of the star's boutiques in San Antonio. She would have had control of her company's checking accounts.
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Selena (left) poses with Bonnie Raitt during EMI Records' Grammy afterparty at Rex on March 2, 1994 in Los Angeles. (Larry Busacca)
“Selena had an aura that drew you in,” Saldivar said. “When she performed, she enticed you to dance with her. She wanted you to feel what she felt. … Maybe that's how I felt. Maybe I was depressed. Maybe I was hopeful. She brought you to her.”…She was very kind. …She would just pet you [on] the back… She just hugged me. We became friends.”
Yolanda Saldivar was previously a nurse. In the docuseries, Saldivar claimed she would go back to work as a nurse after working with the late singer. (Oxygen)
According to multiple reports, many around Quintanilla-Pérez were suspicious of Saldivar's motives. However, Quintanilla-Pérez trusted her friend. But things changed when fans started complaining that they had paid their membership fees but never received any merchandise in return.
Quintanilla-Pérez fired Saldivar over the phone and the former employee begged to meet her in person to explain herself. Saldivar also insisted that she had bank statements that would prove her innocence.
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It is believed that when Quintanilla-Pérez met Saldivar in the hotel room, she demanded to see the papers. Then Saldivar shot her. Still, Saldivar maintains that the gun was fired and the bullet was not intended for the star.
Selena performs a month before her murder. (Arlene Richie)
According to the special report, Saldivar was never charged or convicted of embezzlement or theft from Quintanilla-Pérez, the fan club or other companies linked to the star. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.
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Yolanda Saldivar's family said in the docuseries they are confident she will be free next year but are worried about her safety. (Getty Images)
“I was already condemned by public opinion before my trial began,” Saldivar said. “They were fed a narrative that was not true, that I was an embezzler and an obsessed fan. My right as a citizen of the United States to be innocent until proven guilty has been taken away.”
“I was guilty. I had to prove my innocence. I know people were hurt. And I know they love her. No doubt. And I know they're still hurting. I do that too. I think Abraham took advantage of that feeling, that compassion… to poison her mind.
“I was scared, I was scared. I knew their secrets.”
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Quintanilla-Pérez's music continues to be well received. As of 2015, she had sold more than 65 million units worldwide, making her the best-selling artist in the history of Latin music.
“Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them” premieres February 17th at 8 p.m. and ends February 18th at 7 p.m. The Associated Press contributed to this report.