Ex-Ontario fire captain who murdered wife ‘a monster,’ judge told at sentencing hearing

Ashley Milnes Schwalm’s relatives and friends told a Barrie justice Monday they are inactive angry, heartbroken, and successful disbelief that James Schwalm murdered his woman and parent to their 2 young children.

Even harder to believe, they said, were the lengths the a 40-year-old erstwhile Brampton occurrence skipper went to effort to get distant with it.

“It was devastating and confusing, it didn’t marque immoderate sense,” Christian Bosley, 1 of Andrea’s champion friends told the court.

“To accidental this was a senseless and elaborate program would beryllium a gross understatement. Why not get a divorce? It could person been truthful simple. … He was caput of the occurrence department. He was expected to prevention lives, not instrumentality them,” Bosley said.

David and Tia Milnes, Ashley’s member and sister-in-law, who tribunal heard are present the ineligible guardians of the Schwalm’s children said that nary words tin genuinely seizure the symptom and suffering this execution has caused.

“James took Ashley’s beingness successful the astir brutal, senseless way, leaving each of america shattered. James deceived america saying she died successful a car accident. We sat determination breached and grieving portion consoling him adjacent though helium knew helium was the 1 who killed her.” Tia said done tears portion delivering her unfortunate interaction connection astatine the sentencing proceeding Monday.,

“No magnitude of justness volition beryllium capable for the monstrous enactment helium committed.” she added, Schwalm pleaded blameworthy to second-degree execution successful June.

David Milnes said his sister was taken distant due to the fact that of greed, narcissism, deficiency of empathy and selfish behavior.

“He near them unsocial successful a location for hours aft they heard their parent screaming. He was a father, astatine 1 point. How does a begetter termination their parent and bash it with the children successful the house. I anticipation that screaming haunts him constantly,” said Milnes.

Schwalm, wearing a acheronian suit and achromatic formal shirt, sat successful the prisoner’s container listening intently to his erstwhile relatives and household friends. At times, Schwalm’s rima was quivering and helium wiped distant tears.

According to an agreed connection of facts entered successful tribunal erstwhile Schwalm pled guilty, connected Jan., 26, 2023, astatine 5:54 a.m., Blue Mountain Fire Services responded to a telephone for a conveyance that had near the roadworthy connected Arrowhead Road.

The car was connected occurrence and aft it was enactment out, firefighters recovered the assemblage of Ashley Milnes Schwalm burned beyond recognition. An autopsy recovered she was not live astatine the clip of the occurrence but had died from carnal trauma to her cervix oregon cervix compression. She had been strangled.

According to the facts, the mates got into a combat the nighttime earlier portion their children, aged six and nine, slept. The couple’s lad said helium woke up to perceive his parents arguing. His parent asked the lad to get her compartment telephone truthful she could telephone police. Schwalm told him to instrumentality to his bedroom.

Later astir 3 a.m., the lad opened his doorway and saw his begetter crying. He saw his begetter putting connected his overgarment and said helium was taking the canine for a walk. Later, helium noticed the canine was inactive successful the sunroom.

Schwalm admitted to driving his wife’s remains to the adjacent Alpine skis club, dousing her successful gasoline, driving the conveyance implicit an embankment and lighting the car connected fire.

The twelvemonth before, Schwalm learned his woman was having an matter with her brag and the mates tried to repair their matrimony by going to counselling.

Schwalm past began nurturing a narration with the ex-wife of Ashley’s brag and conscionable 10 days earlier the murder, told that women helium had romanticist feelings for her. She responded by saying she had feelings for him. Just 5 days anterior to the killing, Schwalm told her helium had a made a determination that helium was going to bash what would marque him happy.

Court heard that for 2 weeks anterior to the murder, Schwalm was assessing the fiscal implications of divorce. He besides did net searches astir alimony, astir car fires and whether hunt histories are saved adjacent erstwhile deleted.

Ashley Milnes Schwalm had a $1-million beingness security argumentation successful which her hubby was the sole benificiary.

Two days aft the incident, Schwalm told constabulary helium believed it was thing much than a tragic clang and was cooperative. He said his woman had gone for an aboriginal greeting hike and she hadn’t returned home. Schwalm pointed to substance messages betwixt him and Ashley and had an alibi, saying helium had taken the canine for a locomotion conscionable anterior to her leaving.

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Schwalm was arrested and charged with his wife’s execution 1 week aft she was recovered dead.

Ian Milnes, Ashley’s father, said successful his unfortunate interaction connection that Schwalm was a person arsenic a archetypal responder who “only thought of himself and did the other of what helium trained to do.”

Ian called it a calculated enactment astatine the hands of a existent narcissist.

Lindsay Milnes, Ashley’s sister called Schwalm’s behaviour conniving.

“We sat determination breached and grieving portion consoling him adjacent though helium knew that helium was the 1 who killed her.”

Lindsay said the children person been stripped of an unthinkable parent and is haunted by the suffering her sister indispensable person experienced that night.

Jennifer Price, a person of Ashley’s wrote successful her unfortunate interaction statement: “James Schwalm was idiosyncratic I trusted who I present telephone a monster. He sobbed successful my arms earlier his arrest.”

Second-degree execution carries a mandatory beingness sentence. The contented the justice indispensable determine is the play of parole ineligibility betwixt 10 and 25 years. In her sentencing submissions, crown lawyer Lynne Saunders suggested a play of parole ineligibility of 21 to 22 years would beryllium appropriate.

While Schwalm does not person a anterior transgression record, Saunders called the circumstances of the lawsuit egregious, a horrific breach of spot and 1 that included research, planning, execution and sitting among those grieving arsenic a grief-stricken widow.

“He utilized his grooming arsenic a firefighter arsenic a instrumentality towards hiding work for her murder,” said Saunders.

Saunders pointed retired aft sidesplitting Ashley, helium dressed her successful hiking clothes, enactment her assemblage successful the rider instrumentality good overnight, drove up to the skis hills, doused her assemblage successful gasoline and staged her car accident, earlier mounting the car and her wife’s assemblage connected occurrence and moving away.

She said Schwalm past drove location successful his mother’s car. When the kids got up, helium lied to them astir wherever their parent was knowing “she was astatine the bottommost of the ditch” and told them she had gone for a hike. He took them to schoolhouse and went to enactment part-time earlier waiting to beryllium notified of his wife’s death.

“This is an astonishingly heartless show trying to divert suspicion from himself allowing him to play the relation of the grieving husband,” said Saunders who added for 7 days aft the murder, “he allowed that charade to play out.”

Saunders suggested that Schwalm not beryllium allowed to person immoderate interaction with his children until they crook 18.

Defence lawyer Joelle Klein said a much due play of parole ineligibility would beryllium 13 to 14 years, saying Schwalm has taken work for his actions by pleading blameworthy and redeeming the household from a trial. Klein besides said Schwalm should beryllium allowed to person interaction with his children erstwhile they crook 16 years old.

Schwalm was fixed a accidental to code tribunal earlier being sentenced.

“I ne'er thought I saw myself susceptible of these horrendous actions. I despise my actions and americium haunted they proceed to wounded the radical I emotion and attraction for the most,” said Schwalm to the judge.

“This way is not 1 I thought I could ever instrumentality but it is wherever I shamefully and sadly person enactment and forced others. This is wherever I request and merit to beryllium due to the fact that of my unspeakable atrocious actions.”

Justice Michelle Fuerst volition present her condemnation connected Feb 10.