Trial Murder_of_Selena

mountain view unit saldívar being held

within twenty minutes of saldívar s surrender, taken downtown police station in corpus christi , placed in interrogation room investigators paul , ray rivera. paul rivera, had investigated homicides since 1978, informed saldívar of right attorney, waived. when police investigators surrounded saldívar s truck, had cried out, can t believe killed best friend . within hours, saying shooting accidental. saldívar s bail bond set @ $100,000, district attorney carlos valdez persuaded presiding judge raise $500,000. when bail announced, fans asked why death penalty had not been sought. nueces county jail deluged death threats , there public calls vigilante justice. gang members in texas reported have taken collections raise bond saldívar kill when released. in prison, faced more death threats inmates. mexican mafia, dominant gang in texas penal system, reportedly placed price on head , spread word committed crime hero.

saldívar s crime punishable ninety-nine years in prison , $10,000 fine. saldívar kept @ nueces county jail under suicide watch before trial. state had difficulty arranging defense counsel saldívar; spokesperson said lawyer defending saldívar face death threats. assigned public defender named douglas tinker. tinker s wife feared suffer community retribution , asked him not take case. tinker chose arnold garcia, former district prosecutor, legal counsel. valdez, lived few blocks away quintanilla family, chose mark skurka legal counsel. judge mike westergren presided on case, moved harris county courthouse in houston, texas, ensure impartial jury. according chicago tribune, selena murder trial s publicity rivaled of o.j. simpson proceedings . westergren ordered trial not televised or taped, , limited number of reporters in courtroom avoid repeat of simpson circus . chicago tribune reported division of interest in trial between latinos , white americans. donna dickerson, white american magazine publisher, told chicago tribune had no interest in trial because of selena s latinos background , , said mexican-americans had not shown same enthusiasm when elvis presley found dead. selena murder trial called trial of century , important trial latino population. trial generated interest in europe, south america, australia, , japan.

saldívar pleaded not guilty, saying shooting accidental. in opening statement, valdez said believed saldívar deliberately killed selena . valdez called senseless , cowardly act because selena shot in back. tinker said shooting accidental , denied rumors saldívar wanted romantically involved selena. on october 23, 1995, jury deliberated 2 hours before finding saldívar guilty of murder. received maximum sentence of life in prison no eligibility of parole 30 years. on november 22, 1995, arrived @ gatesville unit—now christina crain unit—in gatesville, texas, processing. of 2015, saldívar serving sentence in gatesville @ mountain view unit, operated texas department of criminal justice. eligible parole on march 30, 2025. because of multiple internal death threats incarcerated selena fans, saldívar placed in isolation , spends twenty-three hours day alone in 9 6 feet (2.7 1.8 m) cell. in 2002, under judge s order, gun used kill selena destroyed , pieces thrown corpus christi bay. fans , historians disapproved of decision destroy gun, saying event historical , gun should have been in museum.