Trial of Yolanda Saldívar

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State of Texas v. Yolanda Saldívar was a criminal trial held at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Downtown Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas. The trial began with the jury's swearing-in on October 9, 1995, through opening statements on October 12, to a verdict on October 23. Former nurse Yolanda Saldívar was tried on one count of first-degree murder after the shooting death of American Tejano music singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez on March 31, 1995, after which she held police and the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit at bay for almost ten hours. The case has been described as the most important trial for the Hispanic population and was compared to the O. J. Simpson murder trial by media outlets. It was one of the most publicly followed trials in the history of the state of Texas. On April 3, Saldívar was arraigned and pleaded not guilty, saying that the shooting was accidental and that she had intended to commit suicide. Judge Mike Westergren, who presided over the case, appointed high...

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