Mother speaks out about son’s death in Palm Springs homicide investigation, 4 people killed

A mother has identified her 19-year-old son as one of the victims involved in a four-person homicide investigation in Palm Springs.

Palm Springs police reported to a crash near the intersection of Sunny Dunes Road and El Placer Road Sunday night. The driver and two passengers, between the ages of 17-19, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Dana Beauchemin has identified one of the victims involved in the crash as her son,19-year-old Jacob Montgomery of Cathedral City.

“He’s not gonna walk through that door ever again. He’s not gonna walk through that door ever again. That’s the hardest part,” said Beauchemin, as she talked about Montgomery’s death.

Beauchemin says Montgomery lived with his grandmother, Edie . Edie was the first family member to find out of Montgomery’s death. His friend came to Edie’s house and broke the news the following day.

“He (Montogomery’s friend) was in tears, I mean really in tears, and he said, ‘Jacob is dead,’ and I said, ‘What? You are not telling the truth. Are you pulling a prank on me?’, and he said, ‘no’,” Edie explained.

Beauchemin recently moved to Montana and flew to the Coachella Valley after finding out about here son’s death. She says her son was a funny young man and taken too soon.

“He was loved. He was loved by a lot of people,” said Beauchemin. She’s now asking the public for help in solving the case.

“I’m sure there’s somebody that knows something. I don’t know who came out of the house (where the crash happened). I don’t know who lived in the house that they were at, but if there’s somebody in that house, driving by, neighbors, friends of Jacob,” Beauchemin pleaded.

A little more than 30 minutes after the crash, officers received a report of a man lying in the road on Canon Drive south of Theresa Drive in Palm Springs. Officers found a 25-year-old man with a gunshot wound. He died before officers arrived at the scene.

“It’s a tragedy. It’s maybe gang related, whatever it is, those four lives are gone and one of them is my grandson. I’m very sad, I’m hurt,” said Edie.

“My only child, her only grandchild. The firstborn of all the great-grandchildren and the first one to go,” said Beauchemin.

In a news conference Tuesday, PSPD Chief Bryan Reyes said that after further investigation it was clear that the three victims inside the vehicle had also sustained gunshot wounds.

A four-person homicide investigation remains underway.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with Montgomery’s funeral costs. Click here to visit that page.

Montgomery’s family and police ask that anyone with information to call PSPD at 760-773-3333. Police also ask anyone in the surrounding areas who may have surveillance footage from that night to contact law enforcement to assist with the investigation.