Yolanda Saldívar denied parole 30 years after Selena murder conviction

The woman who murdered singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez was denied early release from prison in Texas on Thursday.

Yolanda Saldívar was sentenced to life in prison for the 1995 murder of the Tejano singer who became a music icon in the US.

When Saldívar was sentenced, she was given the possibility of parole after serving 30 years in prison. On Thursday, a three-person Texas parole board denied her request to be released early.

Saldívar, who founded Selena’s fan club, will be eligible again for early parole in March 2030.

A jury convicted Saldívar of first-degree murder in 1995. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years – which arrived this year.

Saldívar, the board said in a statement, continues to pose a threat to public safety.

The nature of her crime showed “a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others”.

Saldívar was the founder and manager of the Tejano singer’s fan club and managed the Selena’s clothing boutiques, Selena Etc.

On 31 March, 1995, Saldívar killed 23-year-old Selena at a hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The shooting came after Saldívar was confronted by Selena’s family for allegedly embezzling from the singer’s fan club and clothing line.

Saldívar reportedly went to the hotel after she was fired by the singer’s family over the allegations.

She went to Selena’s motel room to reportedly pick up business records she needed to file taxes, according to the Associated Press.

When Selena ran from the room, Saldívar shot the singer in the back.

Selena rose to fame and won a Grammy in the early 1990s when Tejano music was booming.

She was nicknamed “the Queen of Tejano” and her album Dreaming of You topped charts after it was released months after her death.

As the BBC previously reported, those unfamiliar with Tejano (Mexican-American) music may never have heard of Selena, who was just hitting the US mainstream when she was murdered.

But for many Latina women, she is an inspiration – the first Tejano singer to debut at the top of the Billboard chart when her posthumous crossover album, Dreaming of You, was released in 1996.

Her story was famously brought to life in the 1997 film Selena, which gave singer Jennifer Lopez her break-out acting role.