John Jefferson
Inset: Leilani Marie Beauchamp (KCRA). Background: The location where Beauchamp was killed (KCRA).
A California woman has learned her fate for shooting a woman dead as she was in the bed of the killer’s former romantic partner.
Jessica Quintanilla, 24, was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life for the killing of Leilani Marie Beauchamp, 19. Jessica Quintanilla’s brother, Marco Quintanilla, 30, was sentenced to four years for being an accessory. The two were found guilty in November.
The victim was in the bed at the home Jessica Quintanilla’s ex — of an Air Force airman — when she was shot, according to the Vacaville Reporter.
At some point, Jessica Quintanilla reportedly told her brother, “We killed someone,” which he later testified he thought was a joke.
The case came to light on Oct. 30, 2021, when Beauchamp was reported missing after leaving a Halloween party in Sacramento with two active-duty Air Force airmen who lived in Fairfield, police said in a Facebook post.
Police uncovered the murder scene at that house and quickly arrested the siblings and one of the airmen who lived there and led police to the location where Beauchamp’s body was dumped in Salinas, more than 130 miles south of where she was killed.
“It looks like it could be a love triangle situation, but it is still being actively investigated,” Solano County Chief Deputy District Attorney Paul Sequeira said at the time, local Fox affiliate KTVU reported.
The now-former airman who led police to the body was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. He said on the stand that Jessica Quintanilla threatened to kill him if he spoke out.
Jessica Quintanilla testified she had been upset at her ex and was hungover, but the shooting was an accident and that her ex had a gun that “went off” after he confronted her.
William Alan Welch, the attorney for Jessica Quintanilla, said the shooting that morning as the victim lay naked in bed with his client’s ex was “the quintessential heat of passion action,” according to The Reporter.
Beauchamp’s family mourned the loss.
“Leilani was truly a blessing to us and her beloved friends,” the family said in a statement to local NBC affiliate KCRA. “Leilani shared a very close relationship with her younger brother and sister who, after she ventured out to college, maintained daily communication with them. We will miss her smile, her laugh, her caring demeanor, her strong will, her passion for life and the love she brought to our family. We love you, Leilani.”
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