A Lebanon woman was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery three months after the Linn County Sheriff’s Office began investigating a homicide near Corvallis.
Ashlee Mae DeeAnn Lathrop, 31, was charged last week in connection with the Oct. 4, 2025 homicide.
Early in the morning of Oct. 4, the Corvallis Fire Department and LCSO responded to a call about a gray 2013 Chevrolet Camaro that had crashed into a fence on Highway 34 and Peoria Road, east of Corvallis.
First responders found the occupant, Christopher Joseph Smith, 30, of Albany, had been shot. Sheriff’s detectives initiated a criminal investigation and determined the driver was shot in a parking lot at the intersection near where he was found.
Smith died on scene from his injuries.
Two weeks later, an investigation led to the arrest of Steve Dwaine Simmons Jr., 44, of Albany. According to LCSO, he was apprehended after trying to run from officers while at the Geary Street Urgent Care in Albany.
Joshua Edward Gabell, 41, of Corvallis, was also identified as a suspect and located in custody at the Linn County Jail on an unrelated case a week after the incident.
On Jan. 5, 2026, Lathrop, was also charged in relation to the case with the aforementioned charges.
Simmons’ most recent indictment in December included charges of murder I, murder II, robbery I, two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of meth and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Gabell’s indictment in October included charges of murder II and robbery I.
In court documents, the murder charges for all three defendants allege Smith’s death occurred during a robbery.
The district attorney’s office and LCSO did not respond to calls in time for publication.