'' State of Texas v. Yolanda Saldívar '' was a criminal trial held at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Downtown Houston , Texas . The trial began with the jury 's swearing-in on October 9 , through opening statements on October 12 , to a verdict on October 23 , 1995 . Former nurse Yolanda Saldívar was tried on one count of first-degree murder after the shooting death of American Tejano music singer Selena 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 Latino 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
the shooting death
Murder of Selena
Trial of Yolanda Saldívar