Police suspect a Salem man shot and killed a woman before driving with her body in the car and crashing early Monday morning near farmland in Independence.
The Marion County District Attorney’s Office charged Tyler A. Holman, 39, on Friday with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon constituting domestic violence and second-degree abuse of a corpse, according to court records.
The Salem Police Department identified the victim as Ashley J. Gandolfi, 35, of Salem, in a news release Thursday evening.
The two were previously in a romantic relationship, according to the police statement.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded around 6:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 27 to a single-car rollover crash in the 10000 block of Corvallis Road in Independence.
Deputies found the injured driver, who they identified as Holman, and he was transported to Salem Hospital. They also discovered Gandolfi’s body.
“The circumstances at the scene suggested that she was not killed in the car accident, rather, her body was being transported at the time of the crash,” according to the statement.
Salem police did not say whether they suspected that Holman crashed on purpose.

An autopsy by the Oregon State Medical Examiner determined that Gandolfi died from a gunshot wound and ruled her death a homicide.
The death investigation led detectives to a residence in the 1600 block of South Acacia Drive where Holman lives.
Holman was released Thursday from the hospital, arrested and booked into the Marion County Jail.
He is scheduled to appear on Friday in Marion County Circuit Court.
Holman’s charges allege that he killed Gandolfi on the same day as the crash, court records showed.
“The investigation is ongoing and no other information is available for release,” police said in the statement.
A Polk County grand jury indicted Holman in March 2024 on charges of attempted second-degree assault, three counts of fourth-degree domestic assault and two counts of coercion. Court records listed Gandolfi as the victim.
Polk County Circuit Judge Pro Tem Timothy Park dismissed the case in August 2024 at the request of the Polk County District Attorney’s Office, which said in a court filing that “there is insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
This story was updated after the Marion County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against Holman on Friday.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.