What Fans Still Question About Selena Quintanilla-Perez’s Death Nearly 26 Years After She Was Killed

Fans were stunned on March 31, 1995, when they learned that beloved Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez passed away at age 23. Nearly 30 years later, her legacy carries on through her fans and loved ones.

We were able to learn more about her life and tragic, untimely death in the 1997 dramatic film, Selena — where Jennifer Lopez took on the lead role and starred alongside Jon Seda, Jackie Guerra and Edward James Olmos. However, there are some things that fans still have questions about.

Here is everything you need to know about Selena Quintanilla’s untimely passing.

How did Selena die?

The young star was shot in the shoulder by Yolanda Saldívar at a Days Inn hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Why did Yolanda kill her?

Selena and her family caught Saldívar — who served as president of Selena’s fan club and also managed her boutiques — embezzling money. According to The New York Times, on that day at the Days Inn, the “Dreaming of You” songstress confronted her over financial documents. By this point, Saldívar had already been fired.

Is Yolanda still in jail?

The disgraced employee was served a life sentence back in 1995 and is still currently spending time behind bars. In 2025, Saldívar will be eligible for parole. For her safety, she has been kept away from other inmates who wish ill upon her.

Has Yolanda ever spoken out about the crime she committed?

She did take part in a 20/20 interview and insisted that she did not kill Selena.

“It was an accident and my conscience is clear,” she said at the time, adding that she was “made me out to be a monster.”

She also spoke out in 2016, and the interview was published on the Spanish-speaking site RTS.

Was Selena pregnant when she died?

According to Saldívar, she was — however Selena’s widower, Chris Pérez, denied these claims.

At the time of her death, rumors were not only swirling that Selena was pregnant, but that she was about to file for divorce, that she was a diva and more. “I could fill a whole book just about that,” Pérez said. “There were some things that were just ridiculous.”

In his 2012 book, To Selena, With Love, Pérez recalled that Saldívar had once shown the pistol to Selena. “There was a lot of that. A lot of (guilt) going through my mind,” he said. “But when something happens like that so quickly, and the way it happened, I think it’s only natural for most people to feel the same way. The reason something like that happens is because nobody expected it to happen. We didn’t think this person was capable of doing what she did.”