GUILTY SC - Lois Gambrell, 44, slain, body burned, Williamston, 13 July 2004

Gambrell Murder Trial Ends In Hung Jury

Jury Deadlocks On Charges


ANDERSON -- The murder trial of an Anderson County man ended in a mistrial Friday afternoon.

Lois Gambrell disappeared in the summer of 2004.

Johnny Ray Gambrell was arrested in September 2004 after tests showed that bone fragments found in ashes behind their Williamston home matched his estranged wife's DNA.

But after deliberating for a few hours Friday, the jury informed the judge that they could not reach a verdict, and the judge ruled it a mistrial.

One juror told reporters that another juror said he was unsure authorities had found the remains of Gambrell's wife and doubted the testimony of a key witness.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/5363534/detail.html?rss=gs&psp=news

Trial In Death Of Lois Gambrell Continues

Estranged Husband Accused Of Killing Wife


ANDERSON -- Witnesses in the murder trial of a man charged with killing his wife then burning her body told the jury about how Lois Gambrell seemed to just disappear in July 2004.

Police said Johnny Ray Gambrell was arrested after tests showed that bone fragments found in ashes behind their Williamston home matched his wife's DNA.

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Authorities began looking for Lois Gambrell a month earlier when she failed to show up for her husband's bond hearing on charges that included criminal domestic violence.

After Johnny Gambrell said he hadn't seen his wife in three months, Anderson police Sgt. Jim Stewart said the property's owner gave police permission to search their trailer, where a large bloodstain was found on the living room carpet.

Evidence also was collected from the ashes of a fire in the back yard. Neighbors testified they told police Johnny Gambrell told them he was burning stuff from inside the house. They also noticed the remains of a mattress in the bonfire, burned to the springs.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/5346251/detail.html

Estranged Husband Charged With Williamston Woman's Murder

Sheriff's Office Believes Gambrell Burned Wife's Body

ANDERSON -- A Williamston man already charged with slashing a man's throat and stealing his truck is now charged in connection with his wife's disappearance.


The Anderson County Sheriff's Office said that Johnny Ray Gambrell is charged with the murder of Lois Gambrell (pictured, left).


Lois Gambrell was last seen by family members July 13. Investigators searching around the Gambrell home on Aug. 22 found what appeared to be bone fragments in a pile of things that had been burned.


An anthropologist determined the bones were from a human female, and a DNA test showed the bones belonged to a descendant of Lois Gambrell's mother. Deputies said all of the other children were accounted for.

Johnny Ray Gambrell has been in jail since Aug. 19, when he was arrested and charged with slashing a man's throat and stealing his pickup shortly after they left the Jockey Lot together on Aug. 1.


Deputies said the investigation into Lois Gambrell's disappearance will continue.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/3702467/detail.html

Deputies Investigate Williamston Woman's Disappearance

Estranged Husband In Jail On Other Charges, Questioned Twice


WILLIAMSTON, S.C. -- Investigators suspect foul play in the disappearance of a Willliamston woman, and her family thinks they know who was responsible

Anderson County deputies began searching the home of 44-year-old Lois Gambrell on Monday. Gambrell has been missing since July 13.

Sheriff's Capt. Dale McCard said evidence in the home has been sent to the State Law Enforcement Division for testing.

McCard said there are some indications of foul play, but he wants to see the test results to make sure.

McCard said deputies found Gambrell's car, which had been sold. He would not say who sold or bought the car.

McCard said Gambrell's estranged husband, 44-year-old Johnny Ray Gambrell, has been questioned twice.

"He hasn't been connected to it yet. However, he is a person of interest in this case," McCard said.

Gambrell was arrested after a brief standoff on Aug. 19 on charges that he slashed a man's throat and stole his truck after leaving the Jockey Lot together on Aug. 1.

Her family is convinced that Lois' husband had something to do with her disappearance.

"Wasn't no doubt, there's not a doubt in my mind that he's done something with her," cousin Kenneth Williams said. "When she got loose from him, she was black and blue, skinned up, beat all up and everything."

"He had threatened her. He threatened her time after time," grandmother Mildred Bridges said. "If she was where she could, she would call me, if nobody else."

http://www.wyff4.com/news/3683790/detail.html

From February 2006:

http://www.wistv.com/story/4471674/upstate-man-gets-life-for-killing-wife

An Upstate man standing trial for a second time in the death of his wife has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Johnny Ray Gambrell's first trial ended in a mistrial when one juror said he was unsure authorities had found the remains of Gambrell's wife, but a jury took less than an hour to find the 44-year-old man guilty Tuesday.

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