A Salem man has pleaded guilty to murder charges after he fatally shot and killed his girlfriend in 2025.
The murder came to light when deputies discovered her body after the man crashed her car in Polk County.
Tyler Holman, 40, changed his plea on Monday to guilty to murder in the second-degree with a firearm, according to the Marion County District Attorney's Office. The remainder of his charges will be dismissed in exchanged.
On Jan. 27, 2025, deputies with the Polk County Sheriff's Office responded to a vehicle rollover crash on Corvallis Road in Independence around 6:30 a.m. The driver, identified as Holman, had been driving while intoxicated, the district attorney's office said. He was rushed to a hospital for injuries.
Deputies also discovered the body of Holman's girlfriend, 35-year-old Ashley Gandolfi, inside the vehicle. Salem police said at the time that circumstances at the scene suggested she wasn't killed in the rollover crash.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner later performed an autopsy, and determined Gandolfi died from a gunshot wound, ruling her death a homicide.
A second suspect was subsequently arrested, and accused of helping move the body after the shooting. Logan Wilkins pleaded guilty to second-degree abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence last March.
Holman is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2025. He faces up to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
