Queen murdered by ‘Number One Fan’

The woman on the phone is in a standoff with police

She's clearly distressed, is threatening to end her life, and has a .38 pointed at her head

This is the same revolver that she'd used to kill someone just moments before

However, the victim isn't some random civilian or even a past lover, but an internationally renowned singer and one of the greatest Latino artists of all time

This is the harrowing story of the woman who shot the Tejano Queen

Selena Quintanilla Perez is born in Lake Jackson, Texas on April 16th, 1971

She's the youngest to two older brothers, making her the only daughter of Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla

Now growing up, Selena is a bright and ambitious child showing a deep passion for music from a young age

In elementary school, she starts singing in the church choir and performing at family functions

And because the girl is so in demand, she is missing a lot of class

Now this doesn't sit too well with her school teachers who start complaining to her father

but luckily he doesn't care and says he has bigger plans in mind for his daughter

By the time she's nine years old, Selena is performing at local venues where the minimum age is 18

But since people think she's so cute and talented, they often let it slide

When she's a teenager, Selena joins her older brother's band, Los Dinos, and starts learning how to sing Tejano music

Tejano is a blend of Texas and Mexican styles, but that means there is one problem for Selena

She doesn't exactly speak Spanish, and a big part of Tejano is actually knowing the language

See, if you don't, it's kind of hard to get the emotions right or even know what the hell you're talking about

Thankfully, though, her dad starts teaching her the language, and soon enough, Selena is making a name for herself in the male-dominated genre of Tejano

And just when her career starts taking off, she starts to fall for a guy by the name of Chris Perez

He meets Selena after joining Los Dinos as the lead guitarist in 1992, and soon enough they quickly fall in love and are set to get married the following April

Now in the entertainment world, these two are a match made in heaven

Chris isn't just her lifelong partner, but also a crucial part of Selena's career and team

That same year, the artist releases her first studio album called Selena, and almost instantly it soars to the top of the charts

In 1993, she wins a Grammy for the best Mexican-American album, and the following year Selena scores a Billboard Music Award as well Meanwhile she the first ever Tojano artist to have a crossover hit with her single Dreaming of You This basically means the song is popular in both Mexico and the US

meaning Selena has fans everywhere. But unfortunately, this stardom won't last for

long, and her career will come to an end after a strange encounter with a fan

In 1991, Selena meets a nursing student and single mother named Yolanda Saldivar

She is a huge fan of the singer's music, and when Selena says she's looking for someone to manage her merchandise store, Yolanda jumps at the opportunity

She is absolutely ecstatic when she finds out that she gets the job, and soon after is the president of Selena's fan club

Yolanda appears to be a loyal fan and trusted friend to Selena and her family, but as we know, looks can be deceiving

As time goes on, Yolanda starts to get clingy. She becomes possessive of the singer's time, wanting all of her attention, getting to the point where she is competitive with Selena's husband

What had once been an innocent fandom has now turned into a deadly obsession

Yolanda makes a shrine dedicated to the artist, puts it up in her house, and is playing Selena's music on repeat

But as loyal and dedicated as this friend appears to be, she is holding a dark secret

It's not until 1995 when Selena starts to realize something is a bit off with her self-proclaimed best friend

She finds out that Yolanda is stealing from her, pocketing money from both the merch sales and her fan club

Further, she's been forging the financial documents, thinking no one's going to find out

and if this isn't bad enough, she's been using Selena's credit card as well

She's been spending thousands of dollars on luxury vacations and various concerts

and when Selena's family finds out about this, they are absolutely furious

They immediately confront Yolanda, and the second she gets defensive, they're forced to fire her on the spot

However, just when they thought they'd gotten rid of her, Yolanda only becomes more attached to Selena

She literally loves her to death. And if she can't have her, no one can

Corpus Christi, Texas, 1995. It's March 31st, and Selena's on her way to meet Yolanda at the Days Inn Motel to get her money back

She wants to understand the reason why she's been getting ripped off this entire time

And as soon as Selena enters room 158, she tells Yolanda that she wants to see all the receipts

But that's when she realizes something is in the woman's hand. she frozen in fear shaking in disbelief as yolanda raises the revolver points and fires directly into her shoulder selena injured is able to make a run for it but that when the flesh on her back is torn by another bullet

Adrenaline is pumping through her veins, so she takes off, runs out of the room, and into the parking lot

Selena lets out a blood-curdling scream as she rushes toward the hotel lobby

She yanks open the door, stumbles inside, and collapses onto the floor

The staff can see that she is soaked, drenched in red, and they call 911

Now listen closely because in the background of the call, you can hear Selena's desperate cries among the confusion and chaos

158. Okay, who shot her? The lady in 158 shot the lady over here

Okay, is the lady in 158 still there? I don't know. They shot somebody. She's taking off

Her name? Yes. Yolanda? Yolanda? She's a suspect? Yes, my honor. She's with Selena

Incorporated the lady from The Singer. Paramedics arrive on scene, and when Selena gets to the hospital, she is in critical condition

The 23-year-old goes into emergency surgery, where doctors battle for hours to save her life

And during the operation, the medical staff begins to realize that when the bullets had entered through Selena's back

they had damaged her vital organs and it caused internal bleeding. And unfortunately, these injuries are too severe, and the singer dies at 1.58am, two weeks away from her 24th birthday

In the meantime, police are trying to locate Yolanda, and find the 41-year-old locked up in her car with a gun pointed to her head

Officers then surround the vehicle and try to get her to surrender peacefully, but she is not moving

They're then forced to bring in FBI hostage negotiators in hopes that these guys are able to reason with her

Throughout the entirety of the standoff, Yolanda keeps her hand on the trigger

The situation is intense, volatile and dangerous. Hours pass by, and there appears to be no end in sight

Eventually, the media, along with a crowd of people, have gathered at the scene

as news of the murder is making headlines worldwide. And finally, after nine hours of negotiations back and forth, Yolanda surrenders

She's charged with first-degree murder for gunning down the Tehono Queen, and fans everywhere are shocked

Many are in tears just absolute disbelief that their favorite singer is gone at such a young age in such a horrible way The Quintanilla family home and the Dayzen Motel are turned into makeshift memorials There fans hug one another sing their favorite Selena songs and write messages on the door where

she'd been killed. Radio stations around the globe play her music non-stop, as the Queen's

music once again soars to the top of the charts. Selena's funeral also turns into a massive public

event. The Quintanilla family holds it at the Bayfront Plaza Convention Center in Corpus Christi

to accommodate the thousands of people who want to pay their respects. Many people wear purple

Selena's favorite color, and the family decides to have an open casket so fans and loved ones can

see Selena one last time. But despite all this grief and sadness, Yolanda maintains her innocence

and is conjuring up a different version of the story. I was telling her to leave

And I said, it's over, Selena. It's over. I can't work for you no more

She went down. She grabbed my feet and told me not to leave her

And I picked her up and I told her, just leave. And I grabbed the gun, put it in my head

And in that instant, the gun went off. Selena's once BFF now has a big target on her back

She receives an ungodly amount of death threats and is forced into protective custody just so she won't be harmed

Crowds of fans and representatives line up to cover the trial as it takes place on October 23rd, 1995

Prosecutors claim that Yolanda had killed Selena in a fit of rage and jealousy

but the defense says otherwise. They say that this whole thing had been an accident

and in reality, Yolanda had wanted to take her own life, but the gun had went off accidentally

The 44-year-old is sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in 2025

In other words, she has a chance of an early release in just two years

And as you can imagine, this sentencing is met with mixed reviews, with Selena's family and friends

saying that justice had not been served. But overall, the death of Selena Quintanilla Perez

rocks the world. The room where she'd been murdered is renumbered. There's a film released in 1997 called Selena

that launches Jennifer Lopez's career, and a Selena museum is built in Corpus Christi

In 2017, a star is unveiled for her on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

a symbol that while the Tejano Queen may be gone, she will never be forgotten