Freeze Frame: How one fan's fatal obsession ended Selena Quintanilla's life
Selena Quintanilla had so much more to give the world before she was cruelly murdered.
The Mexican-American pop star was at the top of her game in the 1990s, fast becoming such a singing sensation that she joined the ranks of Cher and Madonna, going only by her first name.
By the time she was six, Selena was already a gifted singer. So it was no surprise she became an international superstar in her early 20s.
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Selena pictured at the 1994 Grammy Awards. Getty
"Her timing, her pitch were perfect," Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla told People in 1995.
"I could see it from day one."
Selena released her debut solo album in 1989, a self-titled release that later saw her dubbed the "Queen of Tejano Music" and "Tex-Mex Madonna".
By 1995, she was one of the best-selling female Latin musicians of all time.
While she was making and recording music with her brother, A.B, Selena met and fell in love with her guitarist, a man named Chris Perez.
At first, the singer's father disapproved of their love. And after he found out they'd been secretly dating, he tried to fire Perez.
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One month after this photo, Selena was shot and killed by a fan. Getty
But Selena was head over heels and convinced her father to let him return.
The pair eloped in 1992 and spent two glorious years married while Selena's starpower only continued to climb.
Sadly, though, with great fame comes great risk. Selena had millions of fans, some more obsessed than others.
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In February 1995, Selena took to the stage at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in her home state of Texas to perform one of her most iconic concerts – and one of her last.
Selena's sparkly jumpsuit is now immortalised in time. A little over a month later, she would be dead.
Selena was only 23 when she died. MAC
Among Selena's devoted fans was a woman named Yolanda Saldívar.
She had asked Selena's family to let her start a fan club for the singer, which they allowed.
Soon Saldívar had wormed her way into Selena's life, becoming her boutique manager and friend before she reportedly began embezzling money from the fan club.
On March 31, 1995, Saldívar lured Selena into a hotel room to discuss the finances, but instead Saldívar shot her in the shoulder.
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Selena and the fan club president who would go on to kill her, Yolanda Saldivar. AP
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An injured Selena was able to escape and tell the reception staff the name of her killer and the room number, but she lost too much blood and later died on the way to hospital.
Saldívar was later arrested and was sentenced to life in prison. She is up for parole in March 2025.
Selena was 23 when she died and was a few weeks shy of her 24th birthday. This year marks 29 years since her death.
She was later named the top-selling Latin artist of the decade by Billboard magazine and in 1997 her life story was made into a movie, Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez.
