The Benton County Attorney’s Office charged Christopher L. Neal, 45, of Aurora, with second-degree murder in the death of Victoria Gamble of Sauk Rapids.

Gamble, 38, was found dead in her apartment on 10th Avenue Northeast in Sauk Rapids back on Aug. 12. “Victoria was an extremely bubbly and giggly kind of person,” said friend Melissa Stover. “Her boys were the center of her universe.”

In the months since her death, loved ones have been waiting for answers as to what happened that night to the mother of two young boys.

A recent autopsy report from Oct. 18 found Gamble had been strangled, and the manner of death was homicide.

Investigators allege Neal met the victim at a bar, went back to her apartment where the crime took place and then left with her vehicle. Records show Neal was later arrested in Louisiana at a hotel with the victim’s vehicle in August.

“We finally got the news, and it was like ripping off the band-aid off again,” said the victim’s cousin Raylene Johnson, on word of the charges last week.

Court documents mention that Neal was charged in a different strangulation case in Aitkin County and out on bail at the time he met Gamble.

“I think I’m grieving way more now than when it first happened because we finally found out the circumstances,” Johnson said.

Neal allegedly told investigators “….that he did not believe he killed her.” He admitted to being in Gamble’s apartment but had “limited memory” of what happened, according to court documents.

Neal’s currently being held in the Aitkin County Jail on the previous charges.

No court date has been set in Benton County to answer to murder charges surrounding Gamble’s death.

Loved ones of the victim said they are working to keep her memory alive.

“My promise to her is that they (boys) are taken care of,” said Stover.

A fundraising page has been set up by loved ones to help Gamble’s children.