On this day, March 31, in 1995, Latin superstar Selena was shot and killed by the president of her own fan club. Born Selena Quintanilla Perez to Mexican immigrant parents in Lake Jackson, Texas, Selena won Best Female Vocalist at the Tejano Music Awards in 1987 and dominated the award for the next seven years. In 1995, the Quintanillas discovered that Yolanda Saldívar, the president of Selena’s fan club and the manager of her boutiques, was embezzling money from the businesses. Selena agreed to meet Saldívar in a Corpus Christi hotel to retrieve paperwork. When Selena arrived, Saldívar claimed she had been raped and Selena drove Saldívar to a hospital where doctors found no evidence of rape. Back at the hotel, Selena told Saldívar that she just couldn’t be trusted. Saldívar drew a gun and shot Selena in the back. Major networks interrupted their regular programming to break the news; Tom Brokaw referred to Selena as “The Mexican Madonna.” Selena was dead at the age of 23. Saldívar is serving a life prison sentence.
