Blood in home sets off search for missing woman, SC cops say. Then a body is discovered

A woman’s boyfriend is charged after her body was found with a gunshot wound by the side of a road, according to South Carolina officials.

Family members of 26-year-old Ajhai Yvonne Taraya Gambrell returned to their home in Walhalla on the evening of May 29 and found blood in the house but no sign of Gambrell, according to a news release from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.

They had left her at the house with her boyfriend, David Delgado Jr. earlier that day, the release says. When they returned, they saw Delgado Jr. “ hurriedly” leaving before speeding away in a car, according to the release.

Gambrell was reported missing, and a warrant was issued for Delgado Jr. for “use of a vehicle without permission with intent to deprive,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Gambrell’s body was discovered near an intersection the following afternoon, according to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office. An autopsy showed she had a single gunshot wound to her neck.

The sheriff’s office said she had been shot with an AR-15 rifle.

Delgado Jr., 25, was arrested in Chesterfield County, Virginia, the sheriff’s office release says.

He faces charges of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to the release. He is in the process of being extradited to South Carolina.

An obituary for Gambrell could not be found online. Attorney information for Delgado Jr. could not be found online.

Walhalla is about 150 miles northwest of Columbia.

This story was originally published May 31, 2023 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Blood in home sets off search for missing woman, SC cops say. Then a body is discovered."