901 Navigation Boulevard Room 150, Corpus Christi, TX 98408
ADVERTISEMENT
This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Author: Jewls Krueger
On the morning of March 31, 1995, Grammy winning Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was shot and killed by the founder of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar, inside Room 158 of the Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas. Selena was 23 years old and on the verge of major English language crossover stardom. Her death stunned the Latino community and made international headlines.
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was born April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. The youngest child of Abraham Quintanilla Jr., she began performing as a child in the family band Selena y Los Dinos. By the early 1990s she had become the most popular Tejano artist in the world, with hits including "Como La Flor" and "Amor Prohibido." She won a Grammy in 1994 for Best Mexican/American Album and had begun recording her first English language album at the time of her death.
Yolanda Saldívar was a 34 year old registered nurse from San Antonio who had founded the official Selena Fan Club in 1991 after approaching the Quintanilla family for permission. Selena's father later hired her to manage Selena Etc., the singer's boutique and salon business in Corpus Christi and San Antonio.
In early 1995, the Quintanilla family began to suspect Saldívar of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from both the fan club and the boutiques. They confronted her and demanded financial records.
On the morning of March 31, 1995, Selena met Saldívar at the Days Inn motel on Navigation Boulevard in Corpus Christi to retrieve the missing paperwork. Saldívar had been staying in Room 158. After an argument, Saldívar pulled a .38 caliber revolver from her purse and shot Selena once in the back as she tried to leave the room. Selena ran to the lobby, named Saldívar as her shooter, and collapsed. She was pronounced dead at Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital at 1:05 p.m.
Saldívar fled to the parking lot, climbed into her red GMC pickup, and held a gun to her own head. A nine and a half hour standoff with Corpus Christi police followed before she finally surrendered.
Her trial began in October 1995 in Houston. On October 23, 1995, a jury found Saldívar guilty of first degree murder and she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. She first became eligible for parole on March 30, 2025, but was denied. Her next parole review is scheduled for 2030.
Further Reading
The motel where Selena was killed operated as a Days Inn for years after the murder before changing hands and being rebranded several times. It is located at 901 Navigation Boulevard in Corpus Christi, just off Interstate 37 near the city's bayfront.
The room number was reportedly changed and the building has been renovated. The building that originally contained the front office is now a restaurant. The site continues to draw quiet visitors from around the world, particularly each year around the anniversary of Selena's death and her birthday. Please be respectful of current guests and staff, and stay on public roads and walkways at all times.
The Mansion where Michael Jackson fatally overdosed on propofol.
East Coast rapper Biggie Smalls was shot & killed in front of this Los Angeles Museum
Musician Kurt Cobain took his own life in the greenhouse of this Seattle home
A Quick Note From Our Founder
Morbid Tourism is independently researched and maintained by one person. Every location is fact-checked, verified, and mapped so you can find exactly what you're looking for. If this page helped you, a coffee keeps the research going.
