A Philadelphia man will spend the next 40 years in prison after being convicted of Murder, announced 10th Circuit Solicitor Micah Black.
On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, David Delgado Jr. appeared in the Oconee County Courthouse in Walhalla with jury selection scheduled to begin around 10:00 AM. However, Mr. Delgado changed his plea of not guilty to guilty to Murder and Possession of a Weapon during the Commission of a Violent Crime relating to the Murder of Ahjai Gambrell. The Honorable R. Lawton McIntosh sentenced Delgado to the Department of Correction for 40 years on the Murder charge and 5 years on the weapons charge, with those sentences to be served concurrently. Under South Carolina Law, Delgado must serve this sentence day-for-day and will be ineligible for parole.
On May 29, 2023, Delgado murdered Ahjai Gambrell in her parent’s home in Seneca after her family left the residence for a short time to run errands. Upon their return, Ms. Gambrell’s mother and stepfather observed Delgado exiting the residence appearing “distraught” as they later described to law enforcement. Once inside the house, her family noticed misplaced items, and they observed blood in various locations throughout the house and on towels and rugs that had been removed from the house and placed in a trash bag outside of the residence. After attempting to communicate with their daughter, they contacted authorities. Law Enforcement arrived and began processing the home after observing blood throughout the house. Officers also located a bullet hole in the hall bathroom located in the bathtub. The investigation revealed the defendant traveling back to Pennsylvania that same evening and a BOLO was issued to law enforcement partners in Virginia. Chesterfield County Police officers stopped Mr. Delgado on Interstate 95, but not before a high-speed chase ensued. Delgado ultimately was apprehended after wrecking his vehicle as he was attempting to flee law enforcement. Blood was observed on the backseat of the vehicle and DNA from swabs collected in the vehicle and throughout the home matched the DNA from the victim. Delgado gave several different accounts of the incident to law enforcement, ultimately confessing to killing the victim in the hallway bathtub at her parent’s home and led officers to the location where he disposed of the victim’s body near Porche Lane in Seneca.
Solicitor Black prosecuted the case for the State, with assistance from Senior Assistant Solicitor Blair Stoudemire, Investigator Mike Arflin, and Victim Advocate Kim Rutz. Delgado was represented by Keith Denny of the Oconee Bar. Solicitor Black praised the work of his team, as well as Investigators Clay Sheriff, Adam Logan, and James Hellams from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office for securing the conviction and 40 year sentence. “Domestic violence and murder as a result of domestic violence have no place in our community.” Solicitor Black said following the sentence. “I hope and pray that Ms. Gambrell’s family is able to gain some measure of closure and begin to heal from the terrible act of violence that should never occur. We will continue to fight with law enforcement to ensure justice for surviving families that have experienced these terrible tragedies.”