Thirty years after Selena Quintanilla's death, a recently released autopsy report revealed new details about her murder.
In March 1995, the 23-year-old Tejano singer was shot to death inside a motel room in Corpus Christi, Texas, by her fan club president, Yolanda Saldívar, who had been accused of embezzling money from Quintanilla.
The autopsy report, obtained by Us weeklyIt took place three hours after Quintanilla's death. His death, which according to the forensic report had been considered a homicide, was due to a gunshot wound that had entered his shoulder.
The bullet's path continued through his ribs until it finally pierced his chest and exited the body through the upper chest. The autopsy report shows the gunshot wound hit the subclavian artery, a major blood vessel that carries blood to the arms, neck and head.
Coroner Lloyd White wrote in the report that his death was “the result of exsanguinating internal and external hemorrhage, that is, massive hemorrhage, due to a perforating gunshot wound to the [chest].” He also noted that his clothes were covered in blood.
After Saldívar shot Quintanilla, she confronted authorities for 10 hours, sitting in her vehicle in the motel parking lot and threatening to take her own life. She was later charged with first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. During the trial, Saldívar claimed that the shooting was accidental, but she was eventually found guilty in October 1995.
Saldívar was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. The 65-year-old applied for parole last December and was denied in March. Your case will be eligible for review again in 2030.
In the 30 years since Quintanilla's death, she has become a pop culture mainstay. From the posthumous success of “Dreaming of You,” her first album that reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, to being portrayed on screen by Jennifer Lopez in the 1997 biopic “Selena,” the singer, dubbed the Queen of Tejano music, continues to leave her mark on the new generation of Latin artists.
Recently, “Selena Y Los Dinos,” a new documentary, premiered on Netflix. It features never-before-seen footage filmed by his sister Suzette Quintanilla and closely documents his rise to fame.
“I want to leave a nugget of love for the future generation, which is to embrace Selena and our music,” said Suzette Quintanilla, earlier this year at the documentary's premiere at Sundance. “We've been without Selena for 30 years, but her legacy is stronger than ever.”
