Murder trial begins for East Bay siblings linked to 2021 killing of Carmel teen
The murder trial for a sister and brother connected to a 2021 fatal shooting in Fairfield began Tuesday with the prosecutor outlining in her opening statement what the evidence will show and her telling the jury that, at trial’s end, “It will all come together to corroborate the charges.”
During the morning session, Solano County Superior Court Judge William J. Pendergast first read introductory jury instructions, then Deputy District Attorney Ilana Shapiro laid out for the 12 jurors and three alternates what led to the death of Leilani Beauchamp, 19, of Carmel, on Oct. 30.
Jessica Yesenia Quintanilla, 24, of Pittsburg, is charged with shooting Beauchamp in the head, killing her, while Beauchamp was in bed with a male companion. Marco Antonio Quintanilla, 30, also of Pittsburg, is charged with being an accessory after the fact. At their initial arraignment in November 2021, both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Speaking slowly and clearly, pacing now and then in front of the jury box, Shapiro recounted some of the basics already known about the circumstances in the case but also added some additional details.
She alluded to court records showing that, on Oct. 30, the Fairfield Police Department received a missing person report for Beauchamp, last seen leaving a Halloween party in Sacramento earlier that morning with two active-duty airmen from Travis Air Force Base who were living off-base in the 2900 block of Cascade Lane in Fairfield.
Shapiro said Beauchamp’s cellphone communications with friend Sarah Schlegel, 21, of Sacramento, the prosecution’s first witness, will be entered into evidence.
Also, Shapiro noted that one of the airmen, Juan Parra-Peralta, 20 at the time, had been dating Beauchamp for about a month, thinking he had broken up with Jessica Quintanilla.
Shortly after the shooting, according to Shapiro, Jessica Quintanilla allegedly told Parra-Peralta, “You did this,” and threatened to harm him if he did not help her try to cover up the crime.
The pair allegedly wrapped Beauchamp’s body in a blanket, placing it in Parra-Peralta’s car, then, with Jessica Quintanilla reportedly poking a semi-automatic handgun into his ribcage, drove to San Jose, where Beauchamp lived. They allegedly stopped at a hardware store in San Jose to buy a shovel and other items, then drove to the Corral De Tierra Road area in Salinas, depositing the body there.
Shapiro told jurors that, in the early hours of Oct. 31, Jessica Quintanilla and Parra-Peralta returned to Travis AFB, where they met with the airmen’s roommate in a base dormitory and that Parra-Peralta appeared “scared.”
Later in the day on Oct. 31, Quintanilla and Parra-Peralta returned to the Cascade Lane residence to clean up the bedroom where the shooting occurred, then “drove around to different Dumpsters in Vallejo” to get rid of evidence, Shapiro said.
Marcos Quintanilla arrived at Jessica’s apartment, and Parra-Peralta left Jessica Quintanilla and confessed what he knew, said Shapiro.
Lt. Jausiah Jacobsen, the Fairfield Police Department’s public information officer at the time, said warrants were issued to search the Cascade Lane residence on Oct. 31.
Police investigators ended up arresting the Quintanillas and Parra-Peralta.
Court records show Jessica Quintanilla was arrested on Oct. 31 near the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Linscheid Drive in Fairfield. It is unclear when and where Marco Quintanilla, a previously convicted felon, was taken into custody.
Also, court records show that Parra-Peralta was not charged in the case, but, Shapiro told jurors, he was discharged from the Air Force under “less-than-honorable” conditions.
Fairfield officers worked with Travis AFB’s Office of Special Investigations and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, as Beauchamp’s remains were later discovered in Salinas.
Shapiro said jurors will hear testimony that “Jessica did not like Leilani,” and hear Dr. Arnold Josselson, a Fairfield pathologist who performed the autopsy, testify that the bullet entered Beauchamp’s head and “exited on the right side of her head.”
DNA, fingerprints, firearms, cellphone communications between the siblings, and Marco Quintanilla’s ankle monitor data also will be entered into evidence, Shapiro noted.
Jessica Quintanilla, who is being held without bail on first-degree murder charges in the Claybank Detention Facility in Fairfield, is represented by San Francisco-based attorney William Alan Welch.
During the afternoon session, Welch began his opening statement with a quotation from Parra-Peralta and his Travis AFB roommate, Damien Ponders, who, Welch said, “had a sinking feeling” about what may have happened.
Parra-Peralta, said Welch, allegedly told Ponders, “She’s trying to pin it on me” and “That’s why you have to help me, bro. Please help me.”
At times, it appeared Welch’s statement was somewhat convoluted and was unclear how he was going to defend Quintanilla and manage the case.
Marco Quintanilla, also charged with violating his parole associated with a felony conviction for attempted murder, is represented by San Francisco attorney Laurie D. Savill. He was previously being held at the Stanton Correctional Facility in Fairfield on $50,000 bail, but, on Feb. 2, 2022, he posted bail on the parole charge and was released.
Solano County Chief Deputy District Attorney Paul Sequeira told reporters after Nov. 2, 2021, proceedings that the killing may have stemmed from a “love triangle situation” as the investigation continued.
If convicted, Jessica Quintanilla faces 25 years to life in prison and perhaps more time for the use of a firearm.
The trial resumes at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Department 11 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.