Abraham Quintanilla, the father of late singer Selena Quintanilla, has died. He was 86.
“It’s with a heavy heart to let you guys know that my Dad passed away today…,” the late singer’s brother, Abraham “A.B.” Isaac Quintanilla, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, December 13, announcing his father’s death. Abraham’s son also shared a photo of his father, wearing rose-colored sunglasses.
The cause of death has not been made public.
Selena’s father married her mother, Marcella Quintanilla, in June 1963. In addition to their famous daughter and A.B., the pair also welcomed daughter Suzette.
Abraham took on the role of Selena’s manager as her music career took off. Her musical rise was truly a family enterprise, as A.B. played the bass and Suzette played the drums in her band.
In 2021, Abraham shared excerpts from his memoir A Father’s Dream: My Family’s Journey in Music with 3News. He also told the news station of the book, “It has a lot of things in there the public wants to know. Because there’s always been, and now it’s grown even more curiosity about Selena.”
He added, “You have to understand that people have sometimes the wrong image of musicians. But they forget one thing: that being involved in music is also a business, and for me it was a business, it became a business.”
While speaking about the beginning of Selena’s career, Abraham reflected on what the experience was like for the entire family. “At first it was a dream and then within time it became a reality because Selena became one of the leading female artists in the world,” he said
Selena was shot dead in Corpus Christi, Texas, at the age of 23 by her former friend and business associate Yolanda Saldívar, who was also accused of embezzling money from the singer’s business in the months that preceded the shooting.
Coroners ruled the death a homicide despite Saldívar’s claim it was accidental.
Marcella Quintanilla and Abraham Quintanilla Bob Levey/WireImage
Us Weekly obtained the original 1995 report that confirmed that Selena died from a bullet wound to her lower right shoulder. The coroner further confirmed Selena died from “exsanguinating internal and external [bleeding] due to [a] perforating gunshot wound.”
“It is my opinion that Selena Quintanilla Pérez, a 23-year-old woman, came to her death as a result of an exsanguinating internal and external hemorrhage, in other words massive bleeding, due to a perforating gunshot wound of the thorax (chest),” coroner Lloyd White wrote.
Saldívar was charged with first-degree murder and was convicted in October 1995. Despite making a parole request in December 2024, as of November 2025, Saldívar has not been released from custody. Saldívar has served her sentence at a women’s prison in Gatesville, Texas.
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“It was the parole panel’s determination to deny parole to Yolanda Saldívar and set her next parole review for March 2030,” the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles confirmed via a statement obtained by Us.
“While nothing can bring Selena back, this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon,” the Quintanillas said via Instagram at the time. “Selena’s legacy is one of love, music, and inspiration. She lived with joy, gave selflessly, and continues to uplift generations with her voice and her spirit.”
