Another Loss! Selena’s Killer Yolanda Denied New Trial Again In Iconic Singer’s Murder
Saldívar was sentenced to life in prison for shooting Quintanilla in the back.
Nov. 19 2019, Updated 4:00 p.m. ET
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez’s killer Yolanda Saldívar’s request for a new trial in the singer’s murder was dismissed because she didn’t seek permission from Fifth Circuit Court. Now, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal her request to be freed from prison has officially been denied.
As RadarOnline.com exclusively broke, Saldívar, who is incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correctional Institutional Division at the Mountain View Unit, filed a Second Writ of Habeas Corpus with United States District Court’s Waco Division on March 28, 2019.
Saldívar, 58, claimed prosecutor Carlos Valdez had and has held exculpatory material evidence, which is evidence favorable to the defendant, without disclosing it to the defense or the jury during the trial. She claimed after 23 years, he presented the evidence, white tennis shoes worn by the victim at the time of her murder, to the public in a Spanish media interview.
She claimed if prosecution had admitted the tennis shoes as evidence at trial, the defense could have discredited the prosecution’s argument that she intentionally shot the iconic singer. She has maintained the shooting was accidental.
Court papers obtained from United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit explain how Saldívar did not “'make a prima facie showing that (1) her claim relies on a new rule of constitutional law that was made retroactive to cases on collateral review by the Supreme Court and was previously unavailable or (2) the factual predicate for the claim could not have been discovered previously through the exercise of due diligence,' and the underlying facts, 'if proven and viewed in light of the evidence as a whole, would be sufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence that, but for constitutional error, no reasonable fact finder would have found the applicant guilty of the underlying offense.'”
Therefore, Saldívar’s motion for authorization to file a successive application was denied on November 5, 2019.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Saldívar is serving a life sentence and is eligible for parole in March 2025.
The Public Information Officer for the prison previously told RadarOnline.com that her job behind bars is to “pass out food trays from a cart to other offenders in her cell area.”
Saldívar was the founder of Quintanilla-Pérez’s fan club. She also helped manage her Texas-based clothing boutiques.
The Grammy winner’s father began hearing complaints from fan club members that they did not receive items they paid for. He also heard from employees that she had been stealing money from the San Antonio store.
On March 31, the “I Could Fall In Love” singer met with Saldívar, who claimed she’d been raped. Quintanilla-Pérez took her to the hospital for an exam, but the hospital wouldn’t perform a full examination on her because she was not a resident of Corpus Christi and was not in the jurisdiction of the alleged attack.
When they returned to the Days Inn after leaving the hospital, Quintanilla-Pérez asked for financial records. While she was leaving, Saldívar shot her in the back.
Quintanilla-Pérez named Saldívar as the shooter, motel staff claimed. She was pronounced dead shortly after arriving to the hospital. She was 23.
Saldívar threatened to commit suicide in an over nine-hour long standoff with police before she was detained.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
She pled not guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
