Travis AFB airman’s 2019 death deserves further investigation, Calif. congressman says

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One year after a Travis Air Force Base airman was found dead in her California home, a member of Congress is joining the airman’s family in calling for more investigating.

Senior Airman Kayli Jefferson-Henkel was found dead July 11, 2019, in her Vacaville residence, with investigators ruling the death was a suicide, FOX 40 of Sacramento reported.

But Jefferson-Henkel’s family members say they believe there’s more to the story.

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“A black eye, a broken neck, bruises on the outside of her knuckle – that tells me that she was fighting,” Kim Jefferson, the airman’s mother, told the station.

Senior Airman Kayli Jefferson-Henkel was found dead in her Vacaville, Calif., home a year ago. Her family suspects foul play and wants more investigation.

U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., said he agrees that the family’s concerns should be addressed. He wrote to the acting inspector general in charge of the case to seek further investigation – and believes the family will be contacted.

“And they will undoubtedly contact the family and say, ‘What are your concerns? Why does this not square with your understanding of your daughter?” Garamendi told FOX 40.

Lt. Mark Donaldson of the Vacaville Police department notes that police responded to the airman’s home after receiving a call from her – and after she had also called a suicide-prevention hotline.

In addition, some of the injuries Jefferson-Henkel’s mother claims may have happened in a struggle were not present on the body during an autopsy, Donaldson told the station.

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The mother, meanwhile, says she just wants to receive acceptable answers to her questions.

“My allegiance is to my daughter Kayli. I want answers,” she said. “I don’t want to be that parent that 10 years from now is fighting still [for] my daughter’s rights.”