The woman who killed Selena wants a new trial. Yolanda Saldívar is serving a life sentence in prison for murdering the Queen of Cumbia in 1995.
According to court documents, Saldivar filed a petition on March 28 claiming the prosecutor, Carlos Valdez, withheld evidence that may have been favorable for the defendant during the murder trial in the late 1990s. She claimed after 23 years, he presented the evidence to the public during a Spanish media interview on March 16, 2018.
“The petitioner paraphrases Mr. Valdez’s media interview where he stated that he and the defense counsel, the late Mr. Douglas Tinker, discussed what [evidence] would or would not be introduced to the jury,” the filing read. “How could this be? It is the jury, no less, that would decide the fate of the petitioner, between [life] in prison and [freedom]. The jury, NOT the defense or the prosecutor is the trier of fact of all relevant material evidence and they alone should and DID determine between conviction and acquittal.”
The petition was dismissed because Saldívar filed in the wrong court, she filed the petition in district court and must seek permission from the Fifth Circuit. An appeals court has already ruled the evidence, a pair of white high top Reebok sneakers and a black baseball cap is immaterial to the case.
Saldívar initially filed a writ of habeas corpus in September of 2000, only for it to be dismissed three months later due to her having filed in the wrong convicting court, records state.
The 58-year-old Saldívar is eligible for parole in 2025.
Selena was killed on March 31, 1995, in Corpus Christi, Texas by Saldívar, who was the founder of her fan club and manager of her boutique.
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