Mexican singer Selena's widower has finally found peace in the years after she was gunned down by an overzealous fan, insisting he did all that he could to protect her.
Musician Chris Perez joined Selena's band as a guitarist back in 1990 and the couple wed two years later.
However, their tumultuous marriage ended in tragedy when the 23 year old was shot dead in Texas by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar, in March, 1995.
Selena, often referred to as the Mexican Madonna, was aiming to retrieve financial records from Saldivar following reports she was embezzling money but she drew a gun and shot the star in her right shoulder.
Selena later died from massive blood loss and now, 17 years after her death, Perez has opened up about that fateful day in new tome To Selena, With Love, revealing her management team failed to beef up security because they didn't think others were "capable" of committing such a heinous crime.
During an interview with CNN, Perez says, "I was with her the night before. That was the night that other woman had planned on doing everything. I usually didn't let her leave without knowing where she was going but that particular morning, as fate would have it, I was asleep and she got up early to pick up some paperwork that Yolanda had said she had found.
"I heard Selena but I didn't get up. I didn't know she was leaving. I thought maybe she was going to hang out with my dad, who had stayed over. I didn't even think to ask - and then she was gone."
But Perez refuses to lay the blame on himself, adding, "I know I did all that I could. I was there at least two times where it could have happened but it didn't because I was there. Who knows even if I'd been there on March 31 what could have happened the next day or the day after?"