Selena trial news briefs

Copyright 1995 The Associated Press

10:16 AM 10/26/1995

Saldivar signs autographs

As the jury was deliberating her fate, convicted murderer Yolanda Saldivar became the object of autograph seekers. Saldivar, seated in the courtroom, spent the afternoon signing at least 50 press passes and credentials given to spectators and court personnel. "I think it's unusual," Douglas Tinker, her lead attorney, said. "The truth is she doesn't have anything better to do."

Cameras missing around courthouse

At least six television mini-cams, valued at $30,000 to $45,000 each, have been stolen from the area around the Harris County Courthouse since the Saldivar murder trial began Oct. 9. More than a dozen television satellite trucks, trailers and vans are parked on three sides of the courthouse on downtown Houston streets. At least two of the cameras were pilfered Monday as hundreds of people milled around the courthouse in the aftermath of the guilty verdict. Police are investigating. Some camera crews have taken to using bicycle cable locks to anchor the cameras to police barricades that are supposed to separate the press area from the public. Authorities say there is a black market both in and out of the country for the broadcast-quality cameras.

Fans in the limelight

The crowd outside the Harris County Courthouse was smaller Wednesday than the hundreds who showed up to await the guilt-innocence verdict on Monday. Still, a core group stood behind barricades, holding signs supporting Selena and advocating severe punishment for her killer. A few even played Selena's music on boom boxes. The illumination of a TV camera light sent them into a frenzy of chanting and waving in hopes of making news broadcasts.

Food for thought

One request from the jury after about three hours of deliberations was for M&Ms and sodas.