Police Find Oregon Woman with Gunshot Wound in Crashed Car; Ex-Partner Arrested for Murder

The body of a woman who died from a gunshot wound was inside a vehicle that had rolled in the 10000 block of Corvallis Rd in Independence, Polk County.

The driver, Tyler Andrew Holman (39) of Salem, was injured in the accident and transported to a hospital for treatment.

An autopsy conducted on the woman determined a gunshot wound as the cause of death. The Oregon State Medical Examiner determined that the manner of death was homicide. The victim was Ashley Jean Gandolfi (35), also from Salem.

The incident occurred at 6.30 a.m. on Monday, and Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call.

After discovering the body of the dead woman, deputies concluded that circumstances at the scene of the accident suggested that the woman was already dead and her body was in transit at the time of the car crash.

Salem Police Violent Crimes Unit detectives, who are investigating the death of the woman, led them to a home in the 1600 block of Acacia Dr South, where Holman resides. They established that Gandolfi and Holman were previously in a romantic relationship.

Holman was released from Salem Health yesterday (Thursday) and arrested on charges of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and second-degree abuse of a corpse. The investigation is ongoing.

Holman is in custody at the Marion County Jail.