Ashley Schwalm’s family and friends say they’re nonetheless traumatized by her demise at fingers of her firefighter husband almost two years after she was killed, a Barrie court docket heard Monday.
James Schwalm, a former fireplace captain with the Brampton Fireplace and Emergency Providers, pleaded responsible in Superior Court docket this June within the demise of his spouse Ashley, whose burned physique was present in an SUV within the Blue Mountains in January 2023.
Schwalm strangled his spouse inside their Collingwood dwelling, then tried to make it appear to be she had been concerned in a crash, in response to an agreed assertion of information submitted within the case.
The packed court docket heard a number of emotional sufferer impression statements from Ashley’s family and friends, who spoke about their trauma, loss and emotions of betrayal within the wake of her killing.
Amongst these to talk Monday was Ashley’s brother David Milnes, who informed the court docket Ashley was his finest pal and an excellent mom who would go above and past for her kids.
“All she ever wished was for them to be protected and have an exquisite life. That was all taken away on January 26 due to greed, narcissism, lack of empathy and egocentric behaviour,” Milnes stated on the listening to earlier than Superior Court docket Justice Michelle Fuerst.
Milnes and his spouse, Tia, informed the court docket they’re now the authorized guardians of Schwalm’s kids, who’re stilling struggling to deal with the “unimaginable” trauma of dropping their mom and the way she died.
“How does a father kill their kids’s mom and do it with them in the home? I hope her screaming haunts him continuously,” Milnes stated.
Others informed the court docket about how the homicide made them fearful and anxious to this present day.
Carrie Dyson, stated her life had “modified perpetually” due to her pal Ashley’s demise.
“I’m misplaced. I was a comparatively care-free, joyful and social particular person. I’m not that particular person,” she stated.
Dyson stated she has nightmares about her pal’s homicide and lives with fixed nervousness.
“He has taken my carefreeness away from me. I do not really feel protected. I’m at all times on edge.”
Homicide made to appear to be automobile crash
In response to the assertion of information within the case, Schwalm strangled his spouse then dressed her in mountain climbing garments and positioned her physique within the SUV she often used to drive to work.
Within the early morning of Jan. 26, whereas the couple’s kids have been nonetheless asleep, Schwalm then drove the SUV together with his spouse’s physique inside from their Collingwood dwelling to the world of the Alpine Ski membership, in response to court docket paperwork.
Schwalm proceeded to drive the automobile off the highway to make it appear to be it had been concerned in a crash, the court docket paperwork say, earlier than overlaying the within of the car and his lifeless spouse’s physique with fuel and lighting it, then taking off.
Schwalm was arrested a couple of week later.
A forensic pathologist’s investigation later revealed that she was not alive on the time of the hearth, however as an alternative had died of neck compressions.
Crown asking for a minimum of 21 years in jail
Following the sufferer impression statements, attorneys within the case offered their arguments for a way lengthy Schwalm ought to spend behind bars earlier than he has an opportunity at parole.
The minimal sentence for second-degree homicide in Canada is life in jail with no chance of parole for 10 years, however sentences might be so long as life in jail with out parole for 25 years.
Crown prosecutor Lynne Saunders argued Schwalm ought to serve 21 to 22 years in jail earlier than he’s eligible for parole due to the brutal nature of the homicide.
Against this, Schwalm’s defence counsel, Joelle Klein, requested for parole eligibility after 13 to 14 years in jail, arguing her shopper is remorseful and has taken duty for his actions by pleading responsible.
Throughout the listening to, Schwalm informed the decide he is “haunted” by what he is carried out and the truth that it continues to harm individuals he loves.
“That is the place I must be, need to be, due to my horrible, terrible actions,” he informed the court docket.
Justice Fuerst is scheduled to ship Schwalm’s sentence on Feb. 10, 2025.
