The victim and her murderer
1
The night before
30 MARCH 1995
Financial
documents
SELENA
QUINTANILLA
YOLANDA
SALDÍVAR
30 MARCH 1995
Financial
documents
YOLANDA
SALDÍVAR
SELENA
QUINTANILLA
Selena visited Yolanda in the night at the Days Inn motel to look over some Bank statements from the singer’s boutiques. Saldívar had told her that she was raped and beaten during a recent trip to Mexico. Selena offered to go along to the doctor with her the next day.
2
The crime
At 9 in the morning, Selena took Yolanda to the hospital, where there seemed to be no sign of the alleged sexual aggression. They gave her back her clothes in a paper bag, and the two women returned to the motel in Selena’s blue Chevy pickup.
ROOM 158, DAYS INN MOTEL
Selena parked her pickup in the motel’s lot and they went into the room.
Selena and Yolanda began arguing loudly inside the room.
BATHROOM
CLOSET
BED
ENTRANCE
Reconstructing the murder site, according to the official police sketch.
Inside room 158.
ROOM 158, DAYS INN MOTEL
Selena parked her pickup in the motel’s lot and they went into the room.
Selena and Yolanda began arguing loudly inside the room.
BATHROOM
CLOSET
BED
Reconstruction of the murder site, using the official police sketch.
ENTRANCE
Inside room 158.
The singer asked Saldívar for all the documents regarding her business affairs. Yolanda said she grabbed the papers she had, and turned them over, along with her cell phone. However, in Saldívar's briefcase, found in the room, there were more papers, A and another cell phone. B
Selena took the briefcase and headed for the door, which was open. Just then, Yolanda took a revolver out of her bag, and shot Selena in the back.
Yolanda shot Selena with a .38 caliber, hollow-point bullet, from a Taurus revolver.
11:48 am
Estimated
minimum
distance
2 feet (60 cm)
The shot went in Selena’s back and came out in her upper right chest.
Yolanda shot Selena with a .38 caliber, hollow-head bullet, from a Taurus revolver.
ENTRANCE
ROOM 158
11:48 am
The shot went in Selena’s back and came out in her upper right chest.
Estimated minimum
distance:
2 feet (60 cm)
3
The getaway
The singer, wounded, ran out of the room. As she ran, she dropped the briefcase and cell phone A. When she got to the parking lot, she also lost her bag B.
DAYS INN MOTEL
Selena’s attempted escape
Reconstruction of Selena’s fight, according to the sketch by detective Paul Rivera on 31 March 1995.
ROOM 158
ROOMS
RECREATIONAL
AREA
LOBBY
A
C
POOL
B
RESTAURANT
Selena’s blue Chevy pickup.
PARKING AREA
Distance traveled:
390 feet (119 m)
A
C
Selena’s attempted escape
390 feet (119 m)
A
C
DISTANCE TRAVELED
ROOMS
ROOM 158
RECREATIONAL
AREA
A
POOL
B
Selena’s blue Chevy pickup.
PARKING
AREA
DAYS INN MOTEL
Reconstruction of Selena’s fight, according to the sketch by detective Paul Rivera on 31 March 1995.
LOBBY
C
RESTAURANT
As she ran through the parking lot, the singer left behing the pool and restaurant, reaching the door of the motel reception office C.
4
Selena fainted
Selena entered the hotel’s reception office, asking for help before she fainted at the counter.
“Yolanda, room 158” were her last words.
11:49 am
Selena entered the hotel’s reception office, asking for help before she fainted at the counter.
“Yolanda, room 158” were her last words.
11:49 am
Bárbara Schultz, motel Manager, immediately called 911 for emergency service: "We have a woman ran in the lobby said she's been shot. She's laying on the floor and there's blood. The ambulance came two minutes later.
5
Selena dies
Selena was immediately rushed to Corpus Christi’s Memorial Hospital. The bullet shattered her right shoulder, tearing one lung, her veins and a major artery. At 1:05 p.m. she was declared dead.
