January 31, 2025 5:30 a.m.

Salem Police Violent Crimes Unit detectives are investigating the death of a Salem resident after deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s office discovered a body in the wreckage of a crash.

A Salem Police Department release said Monday at approximately 6:30 a.m. deputies responded to a single-vehicle rollover collision in the 10000 block of Corvallis Road in Independence. The driver, 39-year-old Tyler Andrew Holman, of Salem, was located with injuries and was transported for medical care.

Deputies also discovered the body of a deceased woman. Circumstances at the scene suggested that she was not killed in the vehicle accident, but rather, her body was being transported at the time of the crash.

An autopsy performed by the Oregon State Medical Examiner determined that the woman’s cause of death was from a gunshot wound and that the manner of death was a homicide. The victim was identified as 35-year-old Ashley Jean Gandolfi.

The investigation into Gandolfi’s death led detectives to a residence in the 1600 block of Acacia Drive South, where Holman resides. The victim and the suspect were previously in a romantic relationship.

After being released from Salem Health on Thursday, Holman was arrested on charges of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and second-degree abuse of a corpse. He is detained without bail.

The investigation is ongoing and no other information is currently available for release.