Part three: the unthinkable
On the morning of March 31, 1995, Selena met Saldivar in her room at the Days Inn in Corpus Christi regarding the discrepancies over Selena Etc.’s boutique finances, which had allowed her to manage Saldivar. When Selena demanded to see the documents that Saldivar was withholding, Saldivar pointed a gun at her and shot when Selena attempted to escape, hitting her on the lower right shoulder and cutting an artery. Selena reached the hall before collapsing. Corpus Christi Hospital doctors tried to revive her, but she died on arrival. Saldívar was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. She is on probation in 2025.
Roche: This brings me back to the time when I was in the studio working on Selena’s voice, specifically on the line at the end of “Dreaming of You” where she clings to the word “tonight” for a note that seems very long and , in hindsight, eternal and watching the television screen and learning through the news of his death.
Thomas He was actually in the studio mixing or working on his song when that didn’t work. And I went out looking for coffee and there was a central section in the studio, where Matthew, the manager of my studio, said, “Selena is dead.” And I literally had a pain in the heart when he said that. I said what ?! “And he said,” Yes, Selena has been killed. “So, immediately I turned around, went back to the studio, turned on the TV and was already on the news. And I was so upset that I left and I didn’t work the rest of the week. I went out to the farm and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Burrow: It is always a tragedy, someone who dies so young. But someone, with Selena, someone she trusted. Someone who was the boss of his fan club, who professed to be his friend. That’s when you go, “God” … It’s so unpleasant what happened. A terrible tragedy.
