Netflix’s 2025 documentary Selena y Los Dinos explores pop icon Selena Quintanilla’s murder at the hands of her former friend and business associate, Yolanda Saldívar.
Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — was only 23 years old when she was shot dead in Corpus Christi, Texas, in March 1995. Saldívar — once a trusted friend and president of Quintanilla’s fan club— was accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from the musician’s businesses months before the shooting.
Following the strong public outcry over Quintanilla’s death, Nueces County, Texas, medical examiners agreed to conduct an autopsy just three hours after the singer’s death. The coroner’s report eventually ruled Quintanilla’s death a homicide, despite Saldívar claiming the shooting was accidental.
The coroner’s report offered fascinating details on Quintanilla’s final confrontation with Saldivar, where their disagreements exploded into a deadly act of violence.
Keep scrolling for more information on Quintanilla’s death and what her autopsy revealed.
Why Did Yolanda Saldivar Kill Selena?
Yolanda Saldívar was initially just a fan of Selena Quintanilla. She later convinced the musician’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, to let her start a fan club in San Antonio, Texas, after seeing Selena in concert.
Saldívar went on to forge a close friendship with Quintanilla amid the success of her fan club. She was hired as a manager for the family’s Selena Etc boutique in Corpus Christie in 1994.
Her personal and professional relationship with the Quintanillas in early 1995 soured when the family discovered that Saldívar embezzled thousands from both the fan club and the boutique. Saldívar was fired from the store and replaced as the president of Selena’s fan club in March 1995.
In the weeks leading up to the murder, Saldívar purchased and returned a Taurus Model 85 .38-caliber revolver at San Antonio gun range A Place to Shoot. (Saldívar later re-purchased the weapon shortly before the murder took place.)
Saldívar checked into the Days Inn motel on March 30, where she contacted Selena and claim that she’d been raped. Saldívar reportedly begged Selena to come visit her alone in her hotel room so she could turn over financial records.
Later that day, Selena brought along her husband, Chris Pérez, for her meeting despite Saldívar’s pleas for her to come to the Days Inn alone. Pérez agreed to wait by their car and once they left the meeting, Selena discovered Saldívar had not given her the proper documents.
On March 31, 2025, Selena told business associate Leonard Wong that she planned to meet with Saldívar again to retrieve perfume samples and the correct financial records.
When Selena returned to the Days Inn later that day, she agreed to take Saldívar to the hospital for a rape examination. The two women were ultimately informed by medical officials that the exam would need to be administered elsewhere.
Selena and Saldívar then returned to the Days Inn.
How Did Selena Quintanilla Die?
Once they were back at the hotel, Selena once again asked Saldívar to turn over financial records. Saldívar then pulled out the Taurus Model 85 .38-caliber revolver and shot Selena in the shoulder.
A wounded Selena desperately ran to the hotel lobby for help, with Saldívar chasing after her and shouting abuse. Selena was rushed to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead at around 1:05 p.m. local time on March 31, 1995.
At the same time, Saldívar engaged in a standoff with police after refusing to exit her vehicle in the Days Inn parking lot. Saldívar initially threatened to take her own life before she finally surrendered to FBI agents after a 10-hour standoff.
Selena Quintanilla ARA ZIEMBA/AFP via Getty Images
Saldívar was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. At trial, Saldívar maintained that the shooting was accidental. She was found guilty in October 1995.
In October 1995, Saldívar was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She is currently serving her sentence at a women’s prison in Gatesville, Texas.
Saldívar did seek parole in December 2024, but her request was denied in March 2025. She remains behind bars at the time of publication.
What Did Selena Quintanilla’s Autopsy Reveal About Her Death?
The Nueces County, Texas, medical examiner’s office agreed to rush an autopsy only three hours after Selena’s death due to immense public interest in the case.
Us Weekly obtained the original 1995 report that confirmed that Selena died from a bullet wound to her lower right shoulder. Selena’s death was ruled a homicide.
The coroner confirmed that her cause of death was “exsanguinating internal and external [bleeding] due to [a] perforating gunshot wound” in the chest.
“It is my opinion that Selena Quintanilla Pérez, a 23-year-old woman, came to her death as a result of an exsanguinating internal and external hemorrhage, in other words massive bleeding, due to a perforating gunshot wound of the thorax (chest),” coroner Lloyd White added.
According to the coroner’s report, the bullet entered Selena’s back. The path of the bullet was traced from the ribs to the “upper pulmonary lobe,” before puncturing “the chest wall.” An exit wound was detected on the “upper right anterior chest.”
The coroner determined that the path of the bullet gravely injured Selena’s subclavian artery, which contributed to her death. The coroner also noted that “blood [was] present over many areas of the clothes” that Selena was wearing at the time of her death.
