Selena Forever

The Selena Trial

The Houston Chronicles Files

October 20, 1995: Testimony of Barbara Schultz

Third defense witness comes to the stand.

Tinker:: State you name please.

Barbara Schultz: Barbara Schultz.

Tinker:: What is your occupation?

Schultz: General manager, Corpus Christi Days Inn.

Tinker:: How long?

Schultz: Since February 1991.

Tinker:: Had you worked at hotels/motels before the Days Inn?

Schultz: No.

Tinker:: What were your duties on March 31, 1995.

Schultz: Everything that concerns the hotel.

Tinker:: Where is your office?

Schultz: Directly connected to the lobby.

Tinker:: Again your duties include what?

Schultz: I basically oversee the overall functions of the hotel, bank deposits, housekeeping.

Tinker:: Did the law enforcement come directly after the shooting with questions.

Schultz: Not directly after. It was about two months or so afterward.

Tinker:: Did you tell your husband what you saw?

Schultz: Yes.

Tinker:: Where were you standing when you knew something unusual was going on?

Schultz: I was standing in the middle of the lobby.

Tinker:: Was there anyone else standing in the area?

Schultz: Myself, Ruben and a guest and his companion.

Tinker:: Do you know who those people were?

Schultz: I know the guests' nickname.

Tinker:: Was there a law enforcement officer in the lobby when Selena came in?

Schultz: No.

Tinker:: What was the first thing you saw when Selena came through the door?

Schultz: She said 'Help me, help me, I have been shot.'

Tinker:: What happened after that?

Schultz: I was in my office on the phone. A gentleman came out of the restaurant, they were around Selena.

Tinker:: Was Shawna Vela near the area of Selena.

Schultz: No.

Tinker:: Could she have gotten close to Selena?

Schultz: As you stated there was only a small area.

Tinker:: She said Selena said 'Lock the door, she is going to shoot me again.'

Schultz: In my opinion, she could not have gotten over there.

Tinker:: Did you call 911?

Schultz: Yes, I was the first caller.

Tinker:: Would you recognize your voice if you heard it?

Schultz: Yes, I certainly would.

First tape of first call to 911 by Barbara Schultz:

"A woman has been shot and she is losing a lot of blood. She is about 20 years old. Send an ambulance and police too."

Second tape of second call to 911 by Shawna Vela:

"I need a red card. I need a police. Someone has been shot at the Navigation Days Inn. The lady in No. 158. I don't know if she is in a vehicle or on foot. I need an emergency car too. Her name is Yolanda Saldivar. S-A-L-D-I-V-A-R and the lady, Selena, the singer. Where was she shot at? (asking someone else in the lobby). Where in the body is she shot at? (911 operator). In the back."

Tinker:: Is that the extent of the tape?

Schultz: Yes.

Tinker:: Was that Shawna's voice?

Schultz: Yes. I could hear her going through the "bucket." It is at the far end of the desk.

Tinker:: Is this how the Days Inn looked on March 31st?

Schultz: That is the basic layout since 1991.

Tinker:: Can you see where everything is on the diagram?

Schultz: Yes sir.

Tinker:: You learned that Martinez saw a second shot?

Schultz: Yes.

Tinker:: To your recall of having an opinion of the lady on the floor, had she been shot more than once?

Schultz: The blood on her sweat suit appeared that she had been shot twice.

Tinker:: Those folks who claimed to see this was all put in one room?

Schultz: Can you give me names?

Tinker:: Trinidad, Shawna, Norma Martinez, Garza and Ramos.

Schultz: Martinez and Trinidad cam over from the back and I don't recall where Garza and Ramos came from.

Cross-examination by Valdez:

Valdez: You said you were contacted by the police department, you remember who that was?

Schultz: No.

Valdez: What did you tell the police?

Schultz: He ask me if I would be willing to testify and was I in the lobby.

Valdez: When Selena first came to the lobby where were you standing?

Schultz: In the middle of the lobby.

Valdez: What was the first thing heard when you seen her?

Schultz: When she first came out saying help I have been shot.

Valdez: Who were you looking at?

Schultz: All of it.

Valdez: Who were you concentrating on?

Schultz: It's hard to say. There was so much.

Valdez: If someone came in and fell down shot wouldn't you concentrate. You did not do that did you?

Schultz: Right.

Valdez: What was Shawna doing?

Schultz: Talking very loud on the phone.

Valdez: Shawna was to make a call?

Schultz: I don't know if she called or if someone called her, but she was on the phone.

Valdez: You said you saw Shawna talking on the phone. How long is the telephone cord?

Schultz: Twenty-five feet.

Valdez: Does it extend all the way to the other end of the counter.

Schultz: Yes.

Valdez: Was she standing there throughout the whole call?

Schultz: No, she was fidgeting around.

Valdez: Where was Selena at this time?

Schultz: She was laying on the floor.

Valdez: What was she saying?

Schultz: The only thing I heard Selena say was a moan.

Valdez: I don't know when Shawna Vela was making this call if Selena had already passed out.

Schultz: I don't know. I could not hear anything Selena said other than the moan.

Valdez: She could have said something while you were on the phone.

Schultz: It's possible.

Valdez: Who took these pictures?

Schultz: I have no idea.

Valdez: What time were they taken?

Schultz: I looks like late in the day or early in the morning.

Valdez: Are you telling the jury that this is what Martinez was looking the day pictures were taken?

Schultz: I have no idea.

Tinker:: You heard what Selena said when she came through that door didn't you?

Schultz: From the time she entered the door and the time she fell on the floor, that is all she said. She said help me, help me I have been shot.

Tinker:: Would Shawna be worthy under oath?

Schultz: In my opinion, no.

Valdez: You did not hear everything Selena said that day, so it is possible she could have said more.

Schultz: Yes, it is possible.