Womenz Magazine

24-Year-Old Sentenced to Life for Gruesome College Student Murder

Leilani Marie Beauchamp and Jessica Quintanilla
Photo by file/Joel Rosenbaum/Courtesy photo/Monica Beauchamp

Jessica Yesenia Quintanilla, 24, has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the first-degree murder of 19-year-old college student Leilani Marie Beauchamp. The sentencing occurred on January 17, 2025, in Solano County Superior Court following the tragic events that unfolded in October 2021, KSBW reported.

Beauchamp, described by her family as a “bright light” and a beloved sibling and granddaughter, was last seen leaving a Halloween party in Sacramento on October 30, 2021. She had accompanied Travis Air Force Base Airman Juan Parra-Peralta and another airman to a home in Fairfield, California, where the fatal incident occurred.

Prosecutors alleged that Quintanilla, who had previously dated Parra-Peralta, became enraged upon discovering Beauchamp at his residence. They claimed that Quintanilla shot Beauchamp before 9 a.m. on the morning of October 30, citing jealousy as a motive. According to court documents, Quintanilla had previously warned Parra-Peralta not to associate with Beauchamp.

Quintanilla, however, claimed the shooting was accidental. Her attorney, William Welch, stated, “She described a struggle with her boyfriend that he pulled a gun on her as she was trying to exit the bedroom. She was taking her belongings and about $5,000 that was hers. He pulled out a gun, tried to stop her, and in the struggle, the gun went off and a single shot penetrated the skull of Ms. Beauchamp resulting in death.”

After the shooting, prosecutors alleged that Quintanilla threatened Parra-Peralta with a handgun and forced him to transport Beauchamp’s body to Salinas. Beauchamp’s remains were discovered the next day, wrapped in a blanket and dumped down a hillside.

During sentencing, Beauchamp’s grandmother, Lourdes Giovannini, delivered an emotional statement: “Leilani was my first grandchild. I was in the delivery room when she took her first breath of life. The pain from her loss – it’s unspeakable. Her siblings will now not know what their lives could have been without their big sister by their sides, per the Vacaville Reporter.

Parra-Peralta was granted immunity for his testimony, while Quintanilla’s older brother, Marco Antonio Quintanilla, was sentenced to four years in prison as an accessory after the fact.

Quintanilla, a mother of two, is “devastated” by the outcome, according to Welch, who expressed hope that an appeal might result in a new trial.

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