The widow of a man shot in the head by an unknown assailant while camping in Calabasas with his two daughters issued a statement on Wednesday, recalling her relationship with her slain husband and renewing pleas for information in the case.
Erica Wu said she has received an “outpouring of love and support” from loved ones and strangers alike following the sudden and violent death of her 35-year-old husband, Tristan Beaudette, in late June.
The couple shared two daughters, ages 2 and 4, who were inside a tent with Beaudette at Malibu Creek State Park the morning he was killed. The father died at the scene, but the girls were not harmed.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators have not identified a suspect or pieced together a motive in the month since the shooting occurred. However, officials said detectives have developed “valuable information” and are making progress on the case in a Wednesday news release.
Wu described Beaudette as a “devoted husband and father whose life revolved around our family, our happiness, and his hopes and dreams for our future.”
He and the girls had gone camping without Wu that fateful weekend as she was studying for an exam.
“Tristan rejoiced in sharing his love of the outdoors with the girls and believed that campgrounds were the definition of a sanctuary where people could feel safe and secure,” Wu said in the statement.
The couple met as teenagers and grew up together, eventually getting married and settling down to start a family Irvine.
“We supported each other as we pursued our careers while balancing what truly mattered most: spending time with our girls and living life to the fullest,” Wu wrote. “I may never understand why our time together was cut short, but we had an incredible journey and I am so grateful for every day I had with him.”
She described her late husband as kind, selfless and giving, and said he had a natural “ability to connect with just about anyone.”
Since Beaudette’s fatal shooting, deputies have fielded reports of at least two additional shootings in the Malibu Creek recreation area, and identified at least seven prior shootings nearby, the Los Angeles Times reported.
But authorities are still seeking the public’s help in identifying leads, and a $30,000 reward is attached to information leading to arrest or conviction. Anyone with information can contact sheriff’s homicide investigators at 323-890-5500, or via the anonymous tip line at 800-222-8477.
Read the full text of Wu’s statement, issued through the Sheriff’s Department, below:
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my family, friends, and the community at large for the outpouring of love and support over the loss of someone who was beloved to so many. Tristan’s passing has been incredibly difficult for me and my family and we continue to grieve over this senseless loss.
Tristan was a devoted husband and father whose life revolved around our family, our happiness, and his hopes and dreams for our future. We met when we were teenagers, grew up together, married, and had two amazing and beautiful daughters. In everything that he did, Tristan was kind, selfless, and giving, and had a natural ability to connect with just about anyone. We supported each other as we pursued our careers while balancing what truly mattered most: spending time with our girls and living life to the fullest. I may never understand why our time together was cut short, but we had an incredible journey and I am so grateful for every day I had with him.
Tristan rejoiced in sharing his love of the outdoors with the girls and believed that campgrounds were the definition of a sanctuary where people could feel safe and secure. I am so thankful to Supervisor Kuehl, the City of Malibu, and Allergan plc for their contributions to a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s), and encourage anyone with knowledge about the events of that early morning on Friday, June 22 to please contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at: (323) 890-5500.”
