Her love:Suzanne's partner, Jeff Vezain, shared news of her death on Facebook. All major U.S. television networks interrupted their programming to broadcast the breaking news, while Texas newspapers sold out in record numbers. Selena hung up and told her husband she could no longer trust Saldvar. The house is situated west of Downtown Corpus Christi, Texas within 10 minutes of drive. [94] All major U.S. networks interrupted their regular programming to break the news. [151], American singer Marc Anthony dedicated his album Todo a Su Tiempo (which was released two months after Selena's death) to Selena. "[68] Shawna Vela and hotel sales manager Ruben DeLeon tried to stop the flow of blood. Critically wounded, a bleeding and crying Selena ran to the hotel lobby, screaming, Somebody help me! Saldvar followed in hot pursuit, screaming, Bitch!. Norma Martinez, a house cleaner at Days Inn, testified that after Selena was shot, she ran out of the motel room and Martinez could see Saldivar still pointing a gun at her. She contacted Selena and told her she had been raped. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. The two returned to the Days Inn after leaving the hospital, with Selena still hoping for her missing records. On March 1, she attended the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where she was nominated for Best Mexican-American Performance for her album Amor Prohibido. [176], Musicians used music to express their thoughts about Selena or recorded compositions as tributes to her. This was her second attempt to kill Selena. When asked why she had done this, she replied that the bank would not allow her to open an account in her name; she did not know the reason for this refusal. One person told Arrars, "if Selena would say, 'Jump! Selena screamed at the staff, telling them, "Lock the door! [269], Graffiti left by fans at the motel room door where Selena met with Saldvar before being shot by her, Selena's career began as lead vocalist of, At the Saldvar trial, nurse Carla Anthony testified that Selena and Saldivar's visit to the hospital occurred seven days, Outlets describing Selena as "Queen of Tejano music" include, According to author Joe Nick Patoski in 2000, Selena was the last Tejano recording artist to have appeared on the, Recording Industry Association of America, History of the United States (1991present), "Grammy Winning Singer Selena Killed in Shooting at Texas Motel", "A crossover dream halted prematurely, tragically: Some ambitious plans were under way to bring Selena to mainstream U.S. audience", "Slain Tejano Star Joining Elvis In Musical Pantheon", "20 Years After Selena's Murder, Book Revives Debates Surrounding Her Death", "Texas Ranger Disputes Suspect's Confession in Shooting Selena", "Selena Planned to Fire Saldvar, Family Testifies", "12 October 1995 testimony of Carla Anthony", "12 October 1995, the testimony of Norma Martinez", "Friday, 13 October, testimony of Shawna Vela", "Selena's last cries shot singer begged help, named suspect", "Surgeon Recalls Futile Emergency Treatment of Selena", "In life, she was the queen of Tejano music. She was 56 years old. [115] The series was released on Netflix on December 4, 2020. At a public viewing of Selenas casket, as many as 50,000 mourners converged on Corpus Christis Bayfront Plaza Convention Center, traveling from as far as California and Mexico to drape the casket with thousands of white roses. Tinker's wife feared they would suffer from community retribution and asked him not to take the case. Adrienne Westenfeld is the Books and Fiction Editor at Esquire, where she oversees books coverage, edits fiction, and curates the Esquire Book Club. [4] Quintanilla, Jr. wanted his children to record Tejano musica male-dominated music genre popularized by Mexican-Americans in the United States. Selena sings at the Cunningham Elementary School in Corpus Christi, Texas, in this Nov. 14, 1994 file photo. She told Selena she was bleeding due to her rape. She'd spent time in the studio in Corpus Christi, and about a week before she was killed she headed up to Tennessee for more recording sessions. The company's bank accounts lacked sufficient funds to pay bills. This in part led to Saldivars conviction, despite her attorneys assertion that she had accidentally shot Selena. Due to the disagreement of Abraham Quintanilla, Selena & Chris eloped in 1992. White testified: Im quite certain the gun was intentionally fired. Selena Day remains an informal holiday celebrated by fans, though a bill has been introduced into the Texas legislature to codify it into a formal state holiday. [80], Elkins said a "pencil-size artery leading from the heart had been cut in two by the hollow-point bullet" and that six units of blood from the transfusion had spilled out from her circulatory system. Before her death, Selena was working on what was meant to be her first English language album. She bought a Taurus Model 85 snub-nosed .38-caliber revolver and .38 caliber hollow-point bullets; the bullets were designed to cause more extensive injuries than normal bullets. [55] Motel guests complained about loud noises coming from Saldvar's room. In January 1995, QuintanillaJr. began receiving telephone calls and letters from angry fans who had sent membership payments and had received nothing in return. [253] Saldvar was kept at Nueces County Jail under a suicide watch before her trial. You will be deeply missed. The company added 11,000 copies to their print run and later printed 20,000 more copies to meet continued demand for the paper. [188][189][190] Following Selena's death, the Tejano music market suffered and its popularity waned. The family agreed; in January 1994, Saldvar became the manager of the boutiques. We may earn a commission from these links. [1] He quickly organized his children into a band called Selena y Los Dinos, which included A.B. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much As in earlier meetings with Saldvar, Selena didn't receive all the records she needed. During the sixth hour, Saldvar agreed to give herself up, but when she saw a police officer pointing a rifle at her, she panicked, ran back to her truck, picked up the revolver, and pointed it at her head again. [135], Soon after learning of Selena's death, people began speculating about the identity of her murderer. [97] News of the singer's death reached Japan, where David Byrne first heard of the shooting. After her death, the popularity of Tejano music waned. [55][3] As Selena tried to flee, Saldvar shot her once on the lower right shoulder,[55][62] puncturing an artery and causing a massive loss of blood. See the first electrified and fastest-accelerating Corvette, Here's why your eggs are so expensive lately, 'Sober bar' owner says she's struggling to meet unprecedented demands, Officials roll out welcome banner to receive Chinese travelers at airport, 'Glass Onion' actress talks about the challenge of her role, 'You're just a hamster spinning on a wheel': Restaurant owner struggles to stay open, An iconic French food is under threat. [218] The state had difficulty arranging defense counsel for Saldvar; a spokesperson said any lawyer defending Saldvar could face death threats. The house is not what most of us would believe. After meeting with Saldvar, he approved of her idea and gave her permission to proceed. Shop the best selection of deals on Beauty now. [152] State senator Carlos Truan and state representative Solomon P. Ortiz reportedly mourned Selena's death. [75] Doctors were able to establish an "erratic heartbeat" long enough to transfer her to the trauma room. 3,276, This story has been shared 3,161 times. [90], Her death was front-page news in The New York Times for two days,[96] and was featured prominently on BBC World News. boutiques. Saldvar showed Selena the gun she had bought. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. He wrote how grateful he was to the newspaper's Hispanic staff who explained the singer's cultural importance to him. Selena released several albums of Tejano music & even signed with EMI Latin Records. Yolanda Saldvar shot Selena Quintanilla-Perez in the lower right shoulder. Getty [17] Saldvar told employees at Selena Etc. So how exactly did Selena die? On the day of its release, 175,000 copies were sold in the U.S.a record for a female vocalistand 331,000 copies sold in its first week. [256], Valdez, who lived a few blocks away from the Quintanilla family, chose Mark Skurka as the lead prosecutor. Selena didn't win at the Grammys, but she could take solace in the fact that she'd received the Best Mexican-American Album Grammy the previous year for Selena Live!. On the eve of a heralded comeback tour, a frail King of Pop was addicted to prescription drugs and deeply in debt. [90][91][92], When radio station KEDA-AM broke the news of Selena's death, many people accused the staff of lying because the next day was April Fools' Day. [145] According to Antonio Lopez of The Santa Fe New Mexican, the day Selena was killed "is a bookmark in time in the memories of many Latinos". Nevertheless, Selena was frustrated with Yolanda and believed her former friend was stalling in handing over those key financial documents. Somber Saldvar delivered to prisonConvicted murderer of Tejano star Selena keeps head down during processing, "Offender Information Detail Saldivar, Yolanda", "A grim, isolated life in prison seems likely for Selena's killer", "Southwest: Texas: Gun That Killed Singer Is To Be Destroyed", "Gun used in slaying of Selena destroyed", Tejano Proud: Tex-Mex Music in the Twentieth Century, Selena: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Selena&oldid=1133999282, Hispanic and Latino American-related controversies, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2017, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Money embezzlement and Selena's management demanding missing fan club's financial records, This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 14:25. [64][70][71] She was "mortally wounded [and] terrified" when she identified Saldvar, having said her last words "Yolanda (room) 158. She ran towards the lobby, leaving a trail of blood 392 feet (119m) long. At the time of Selena's death, Tejano music was one of the most popular Latin music subgenres in the United States. The day of her death, Selena visited a hospital with Saldvar On the morning of March 31, Selena met with Saldvar, who had claimed she'd been raped while in Monterrey, Selenas net worth was about $5 Million at the time of her death which is a very handsome amount regarding her early age. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. When Selena opened the door to leave, Saldvar said she told her to close it. [21] Along with the responsibility of running the boutiques, Saldvar accompanied Selena on trips and had keys to the singer's house. Though Saldvar reportedly asked Selena to come alone, Perez accompanied his wife when she went to the Days Inn in Corpus Christi where Saldvar was staying. She was 56. [38], After the meeting, Quintanilla, Jr. discovered the fan club's checks were signed with Maria Elida's signature in handwriting identical to Saldvar's. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. She eventually conquered Latin American markets and won a Grammy for one of her Spanish-language albums. To those people, though, the five million Texans of Mexican descent, the death of Selena was Black Friday, a day of infamy even darker and more evil than the assassination of John F. Kennedy. While Selena: The Series does a good job depicting how former nurse Yolanda Saldvar glommed onto the singer and later embezzled money from her, the show really shies away from depicting Selenas final moments. [77] Dr. Louis Elkins, cardiac surgeon, arrived at Memorial Hospital and said he saw doctors making "heroic efforts" to revive Selena. She was shot dead there on March 31, 1995 by the president of her fan club. [8], Yolanda Saldvar became a fan of Tejano music in the mid-1980s. [23], In January 1995, Debra Ramirez, Selena's cousin, was hired to work in the boutiques and to help Selena expand the business into Mexico. Selena died in the hospital before her husband was able to see her. [166] On the same day, a crowd of three thousand attended an organized mass of the resurrection for Selena at Johnnyland Concert Park. He sent an employee to her motel room to investigate. [116][117] The second and final part of the series premiered on May 4, 2021. Quintanilla, Jr. believed Saldvar was trying to get Selena to return to the motel alone. The comments below have not been moderated. appreciated. [61] It took minutes from the point of impact of the bullet that Selena lost "virtually all the blood in her body" which contributed to her rapidly bleeding to death. [148], Spanish singer Julio Iglesias interrupted a recording session in Miami for a moment of silence. [83] Musicologist Himilce Novas later said the event was reminiscent of O. J. Simpson's planned suicide ten months earlier. READ NEXT: The latest COVID-19 deaths, cases, and updates. 2. ", "Is Tejano Music Completely Dead? Stern said, "This music does absolutely nothing for me. [61], Saldvar surrendered after more than nine hours. Martin Gomez, a designer hired to produce Selenas fashion line, said, I told Selena I was scared of Yolanda. That same day, a disc jockey played Selena's music near the church in a small park. She'll shoot me again! [69][68] The singer identified Saldvar as her assailant and gave the number of the room where she had been shot. [85] Doctors said that if the bullet had been only one millimeter higher or lower, the wound would have been less severe. Suzanne played manicuristPolly Chae on Las Vegas during season four. [102] In response, an editor said "I hope not. [210] Selena was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame,[211] the Hard Rock Cafe's Hall of Fame in 1995,[212] the South Texas Music Hall of Fame,[213] and the Tejano Music Hall of Fame in 2001. [33], Saldvar's brother, Armando Saldvar, supposedly contacted Gomez and "made up a story" that Saldvar was stealing money from the fan club. [176], In the months following Selena's death, an average of 12,000 people visited her grave site and the Days Inn motel where the shooting occurred. [7] She landed her first major record deal with Capitol EMI Latin in 1989. Richard Fredrickson, a paramedic who responded to the scene, testified that when he got there, Selena was lying on her stomach in front of the counter at the Days Inn lobby. All major television networks in the United States interrupted their regular programming to break the news. She'd trusted Saldvar enough to give her access to financial accounts. Selena: The Series tells the story of Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez (Christian Serratos)s life and her untimely death. [138] A few days after her death, president of the United States Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary sent a letter of condolence to Selena's husband Chris Prez. 'She was immensely encouraged by the love of her family, friends and those she had yet to meet', The Hollywood vet is best known for her nearly 10 years of voiceover and hosting work on the hit series House Hunters on HGTV. 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