A Salem man faces a murder charge after he crashed his car while allegedly transporting the dead body of his former girlfriend.
Tyler Andrew Holman, 39, lost control of his car in the 10000 block of Corvallis Road in Independence shortly before 6:30 a.m. Monday, the Salem Police Department said in a statement.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the car and Holman along the rural road, and the injured driver was taken to a hospital to receive medical treatment. Deputies also found the body of a dead woman, and the “circumstances at the scene suggested that she was not killed in the car accident,” police said.
An autopsy later in the week revealed that the woman – Ashley Jean Gandolfi, 35 – had been killed by a gunshot, officials said.
Holman and Gandolfi “were previously in a romantic relationship,” according to police.
Last March, a Salem police officer arrested Holman on a domestic-violence assault charge, stating in a probable cause affidavit that Gandolfi said Holman had “grabbed her and threw her down” and that she was “afraid to go home.” That case was dismissed in August.
Police arrested Holman Thursday after he was released from Salem Hospital. Holman was booked on charges of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
The investigation into the homicide is ongoing, police said.
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