Fact Check

Was Yolanda Saldivar, Selena's Killer, Found Dead in Prison?

Unlike the popular Tejano entertainer, her murderer remains alive.

Published Aug. 17, 2015

Claim:
Singer Selena Quintanilla's killer, Yolanda Saldivar, was found dead in prison.

On 17 August 2015, the United Media Publishing website published an article reporting that Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who killed singer Selena Quintanilla, had been found dead in her prison cell:

After spending nearly 20 years in prison for the murder of beloved Tejano superstar, Selena Quintanilla Perez, Yolanda Saldivar was found dead in her cell by deputies during a routine walk throuugh of the Mountain View unit in Gatesville, Texas. Attempts to resuscitate Saldivar proved futile as she appeared to have been dead for several hours before discovery.

Cause of death will be announced pending autopsy and toxicology reports.

This report was quickly spread (and believed) by social media users:

yolanda twitter

There was no truth to this story. As of 2018, Yolanda Saldivar was still alive and sitting behind bars at the Mountain View Unit prison in Texas.

Although United Media Publishing does not feature a disclaimer identifying its content as junk news, the web site frequently publishes false stories, including tales about Christian couples filing for divorce in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage, residents in Clint, Texas, being forcibly implanted with microchips, and the Pope claiming that sterilizing unwed mothers could prevent climate change.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.