New Trial Possible In Selena Killing

A missing box of court records could mean a new trial for the woman serving a life prison term for killing Tejano singing star Selena, prosecutors and defense attorneys say.

The missing records are needed by a state appellate court now considering the appeal of Yolanda Saldivar, the former Selena fan club president convicted of killing the singer in March 1995.

“It’s a sticky mess,” Nueces County District Attorney Carlos Valdez said Tuesday. “For our conviction to be jeopardized by something like this is horrible.”

During Saldivar’s trial in Houston last October, defense attorneys subpoenaed business records that belonged to Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr.

State District Judge Mike Westergren reviewed the records and ruled the defense was not entitled to see most of them. Westergren then ordered the documents sealed as part of the court record - and last saw them in the temporary judge’s chambers he used for the trial.