Yolanda Saldivar.Photo:AP Photo

Tejano star Selena, left, watches as Yolanda Saldivar speaks to a crowd at a post-1994 Tejano Music Awards party in San Antonio, Texas. Saldivar is accused of shooting Selena to death in a Corpus Christi motel room Friday, March 31, 1995.

AP Photo

Yolanda Saldívar, the woman who was sentenced to life in prison for killingSelena Quintanilla, is hoping to soon be released.

Saldívar, 64, was a close friend and business associate of the “I Could Fall In Love” singer before fatally shooting her at a Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1995, just two weeks ahead of what would have been Quintanilla’s 24th birthday.

A family member of Saldívar toldThe New York Postthat she believes she should be freed from prison when she becomeseligible for parole in March 2025, as Saldívar claims that the shooting was accidental.

“Enough is enough,” one of Saldívar’s relatives, who went unnamed, told the outlet. “She feels like she’s a political prisoner at this point. She’s ready to get out of jail, because she believes she has more than served her time.”

Selena and Yolanda Saldivar at a post-1994 Tejano Music Awards party in San Antonio, Texas.AP Photo

Tejano star Selena, left, watches as Yolanda Saldivar speaks to a crowd at a post-1994 Tejano Music Awards party in San Antonio, Texas. Saldivar is accused of shooting Selena to death in a Corpus Christi motel room Friday, March 31, 1995.

Saldívar allegedly killed Quintanilla after the Grammy Award-winner learned that Saldívar had been embezzling money from her clothing boutiques. Two days after Quintanilla confronted her, Saldívar applied for a permit to purchase a gun in San Antonio, witnesses testified during her trial, per theAssociated Press.

After the murder, Saldívar held police at bay while she sat in her pickup in the motel’s parking lot, threatening to kill herself,The New York Timesreported. She later surrendered and was charged with first-degree murder.

During the trial, Saldívarpleaded not guiltyto murder, and her defense attorneys argued that the fatal shooting was a tragic accident and Saldívar was trying to kill herself and not Quintanilla, perCNN.

Yolanda Saldivar is escorted by a court officer to an afternoon session of her change of venue hearing, Friday afternoon, Aug. 4, 1995, at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas. Attorneys for Saldivar, who is accused of murdering Tejano music star Selena, contend that Saldivar could not get a fair trial in Corpus Christi

AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Tom Fox

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

In subsequent interviews, Saldívar has since maintained that the shooting was “an accident,” tellingABC’s “20/20”in 1995: “They made me out to be a monster, and I just want to say, I did not kill Selena. It was an accident, and my conscience is clear.”

Since being convicted of murder in October 1995 and sentenced to life, Saldívar has reportedly claimed there is a “bounty on her head” in jail, according toABC 13.

Selena.Arlene Richie/Getty

Mexican singer Selena performing in concert; one month later she would be shot and killed by Yolanda Saldivar, the pres. of her fan club, after confronting her on charges that she was embezzling funds.

Arlene Richie/Getty

Saldívar has now applied for parole, for which she will become eligible on March 30, according toonline recordsfrom the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Quintanilla was killed before the completion of her highly anticipated English albumDreaming of You. The album posthumously debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart on Aug. 4, 1995 and remained on the list for 49 weeks.

Her song of the same name peaked at No. 22 on the Hot 100 on Nov. 24, 1995 and charted for 20 weeks.

Jennifer Lopezlater starred in a movie about the music star in 1997 that earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

source: people.com