The former president of her fan club who shot and killed the singer was denied parole earlier this year
Tejano music superstar Selena Quintanilla-Pérez’s life and tragic death is explored in the new Netflix documentary Selena y Los Dinos: A Family Legacy. Along with it, new details from the autopsy report have emerged about the star, who was murdered 30 years ago at the hands of Yolanda Saldívar.
In 1995, 23-year-old Quintanilla was murdered by Saldívar, who was the former president of her fan club. An autopsy was done just three hours after her death due to public interest, confirming that she died from a bullet wound to her lower right shoulder.
According to the original report in 1995, obtained by Us Weekly, coroner Lloyd White wrote that her death was “a result of exsanguinating internal and external hemorrhage, in other words massive bleeding, due to a perfroating gunshot wound of the thorax.” The bullet entered the singer’s back and went through her ribs as well as the upper lobe of her lungs before exiting her body. The coroner concluded that the bullet severely injured her subclavian artery, contributing to her death.
Saldívar claimed the gunshot was an accident and pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. She was convicted in October of that year and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She was up for parole this year but her request was denied. She will next be eligible to seek parole in 2030.
Selena y Los Dinos is now streaming on Netflix. Selena’s husband Chris Pérez and her sister Suzette Quintanilla worked together on the project, which was directed by Isabel Castro. The film features never-before-seen footage of the pop star’s life before and after fame that digs beneath the legacy and most famous notes in her story.
