Travis airman arrested in connection with alleged murder of 19-year-old woman
Fairfield CA October 5 2021 An active-duty airman at Travis Air Force Base in northern California was arrested Oct. 31 as part of a police investigation into a 19-year-old woman’s death over Halloween weekend.
Airman 1st Class Juan Parra-Peralta, 20, faces an allegation of accessory to murder in the death of Leilani Beauchamp, the Fairfield Police Department said Monday.
Beauchamp, of Carmel, was last seen leaving a Halloween party in Sacramento early in the morning of Oct. 30 with Parra-Peralta and his roommate, another active-duty airman assigned to Travis, police spokesman Lt. Jausiah Jacobsen told Air Force Times.
In an eight-day span, an Air Force sergeant fatally shot a federal security officer and wounded his partner outside a U.S. courthouse and ambushed and killed a California sheriff’s deputy and injured four other officers, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Jacobsen declined to provide the name of the second airman, citing the ongoing investigation. Jesse Borbe, identified as Parra-Peralta’s roommate in local news reports, is not an airman assigned to Travis, the Air Force said.
Fairfield police received a missing person report for Beauchamp on the night of Oct. 30. The police department’s online log shows two “follow-up” visits to a house on Cascade Lane in Fairfield, about two miles from Travis AFB, on Oct. 31 around 1:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. local time.
An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the Cascade Lane residence is Parra-Peralta’s home. Jacobsen said the two visits may have been check-ins to see if anyone was home after the missing person report came in.
“Fairfield patrol officers, detectives and members of Travis Air Force Base’s Office of Special Investigations worked together, ultimately determining a homicide occurred at the residence on Cascade Lane resulting in Leilani’s death,” Fairfield police said.
Law enforcement found Beauchamp’s remains in Monterey County, more than 100 miles from the house, on Oct. 31. Jacobsen declined to comment further on the homicide ruling or the human remains.
Prosecutors will try to convince a jury that Airman 1st Class Mark Gooch disdained Mennonites and drove more than seven hours to New Mexico to kidnap Sasha Krause, a Mennonite Sunday school teacher, and fatally shoot her.
Jessica Quintanilla, 21, of Pittsburg, California, was arrested for alleged murder. Her brother Marco Quintanilla, 27, also of Pittsburg, is accused of accessory to murder and violating his parole. He was on parole following a felony conviction for attempted murder, Fairfield police said.
It’s unclear what relationship Parra-Peralta and the Quintanillas have, or whether they knew Beauchamp personally. Jacobsen said officers have a “decent framework” of how those involved knew each other, but declined to provide details.
Parra-Peralta posted bail and is currently reporting for duty, Maj. Amanda Farr, a spokesperson for the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis, said in emails Tuesday.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with family and friends of the victim in this case,” she said.
Parra-Peralta, a cargo special operations specialist with the 60th Aerial Port Squadron, has been stationed at Travis since March 2020. He entered the Air Force in November 2019; Travis is his first duty station, Farr said.
The airman has no record of previous disciplinary issues during his Air Force career and did not have a criminal record upon entering the military.
The Air Force won’t comment on the ongoing investigation but said Parra-Peralta “will be afforded the right to due process through the civilian justice system.”
An OSI liaison from Travis is working with the Fairfield police and others handling the case, Farr added.
“We will continue to support the lead agency in their investigation and take appropriate administrative actions, if warranted,” she said. “It is premature to speculate any future Air Force courses of action.”
The Solano County Superior Court referred questions to the Solano County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday
A GoFundMe page to raise money for Beauchamp’s funeral expenses had garnered more than $6,000 as of Tuesday evening. Violet Giovannini, who organized the fundraiser, said “Lani” was her oldest daughter.
“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,” the family wrote. “We love you Leilani.”
Air Force Times
