Ashley Milnes had her dream wedding at the picturesque Craigleith Ski Club in the Blue Mountains of Ontario, Canada. She arrived at the private resort in a horse and carriage, and married James Schwalm, a respected local firefighter. After the fairy-tale day in 2012, Ashley told Weddingbells magazine, "I've been picturing that moment since I was a little girl. I truly felt like a princess and isn't that how you're supposed to feel on your wedding day?"
By the start of 2023, Ashley, 40, and her husband had two children, aged six and nine, and were living in Collingwood, Ontario. Ashley was working as a project manager at a construction company while Schwalm had been promoted to captain at the Brampton fire department. But their decade-long marriage was in trouble and they were heading for divorce.
Ashley had grown unhappy in the relationship and in 2022 she had an affair with her boss. When Schwalm found out, she changed jobs and they had counselling to try to repair their marriage. But Schwalm was secretly talking to the ex-wife of the man Ashley had had the affair with. He sent her a message saying he had strong feelings for her and she replied that she felt the same way.
Schwalm confided in friends that he and Ashley were likely heading for a divorce, but he was concerned about the cost and expressed a worry about climbing back up the property ladder. He searched for both "alimony" and "divorce" on his phone.
Just before 6am on 26 January, Blue Mountain Fire Services responded to a call about a vehicle that had left the road up in the Blue Mountains outside Collingwood. When they arrived, the car was down an embankment and was on fire. After the flames were put out, they found a body inside that was burned beyond recognition. It was later officially identified through dental records as Ashley, and the car was her 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander SUV. It appeared that Ashley had lost control of her vehicle on the snow-covered road and plunged down a steep embankment before being trapped when the car had burst into flames.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1741670425/articles/w8y1oe5fN1741675180486/1747644471.jpg]
When Schwalm was told, he was distraught. He said Ashley had left that morning to go for an early morning hike and that he'd gone to walk their dog just before she'd left. Schwalm was left a widow with two young children. The community, and Ashley's heartbroken family, rushed to support him following the tragedy.
But there were unanswered questions. First responders noted the smell of gasoline at the scene and the driver's window was open - despite it being snowy and freezing. The oxygen had fuelled the fire. Added to that, Ashley didn't usually go hiking in that area during the week, especially in the dark when there was fresh snow.
Then the autopsy revealed something disturbing. Ashley hadn't been alive at the time of the fire and hadn't died in the crash. The cause of her death was physical trauma to her neck, or neck compression. She'd been strangled.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1741670425/articles/w8y1oe5fN1741675180486/1741471966.jpg]
FLEEING THE SCENE
Schwalm shared text messages with the investigators that seemed to back up his story. Ashley had messaged him at 5.23am to say she was going to "zip out" for a hike and that the kids were asleep, so they'd be fine. Schwalm asked her to fill up the gas cans for the snowblower while she was out. She later messaged saying, "Eww I left the gas cans in my car, and it smells."
Another message at 5.46am read, "Oh, I have vertigo. I'm going to rush home." Was that why she lost control of her car? Had the vehicle ignited because of the gasoline she'd bought? Detectives weren't so sure.
Surveillance footage showed a dark figure with a large backpack fleeing the scene of the crash and the police believed it was Schwalm. Records showed that as well as looking up “alimony” on his phone, he had also searched “does a road flare completely burn” and “can you see iPhone history after deleted”.
Ashley had a $1 million life insurance policy and Schwalm was the sole beneficiary. There was also a $250,000 policy for her two children. That would solve Schwalm’s concerns about a costly divorce.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1741670425/articles/w8y1oe5fN1741675180486/7576911716.jpg]
Ashley’s son told the police he’d woken up to hear his parents arguing on 26 January. He’d gone to his mum who had asked him to get her mobile phone – but his dad had told him to go back to bed, which he did. Had Ashley been trying to call for help? At around 3am, the son had woken up again and saw his dad crying. He saw his dad puttin...
By the start of 2023, Ashley, 40, and her husband had two children, aged six and nine, and were living in Collingwood, Ontario. Ashley was working as a project manager at a construction company while Schwalm had been promoted to captain at the Brampton fire department. But their decade-long marriage was in trouble and they were heading for divorce.
Ashley had grown unhappy in the relationship and in 2022 she had an affair with her boss. When Schwalm found out, she changed jobs and they had counselling to try to repair their marriage. But Schwalm was secretly talking to the ex-wife of the man Ashley had had the affair with. He sent her a message saying he had strong feelings for her and she replied that she felt the same way.
Schwalm confided in friends that he and Ashley were likely heading for a divorce, but he was concerned about the cost and expressed a worry about climbing back up the property ladder. He searched for both "alimony" and "divorce" on his phone.
Just before 6am on 26 January, Blue Mountain Fire Services responded to a call about a vehicle that had left the road up in the Blue Mountains outside Collingwood. When they arrived, the car was down an embankment and was on fire. After the flames were put out, they found a body inside that was burned beyond recognition. It was later officially identified through dental records as Ashley, and the car was her 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander SUV. It appeared that Ashley had lost control of her vehicle on the snow-covered road and plunged down a steep embankment before being trapped when the car had burst into flames.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1741670425/articles/w8y1oe5fN1741675180486/1747644471.jpg]
When Schwalm was told, he was distraught. He said Ashley had left that morning to go for an early morning hike and that he'd gone to walk their dog just before she'd left. Schwalm was left a widow with two young children. The community, and Ashley's heartbroken family, rushed to support him following the tragedy.
But there were unanswered questions. First responders noted the smell of gasoline at the scene and the driver's window was open - despite it being snowy and freezing. The oxygen had fuelled the fire. Added to that, Ashley didn't usually go hiking in that area during the week, especially in the dark when there was fresh snow.
Then the autopsy revealed something disturbing. Ashley hadn't been alive at the time of the fire and hadn't died in the crash. The cause of her death was physical trauma to her neck, or neck compression. She'd been strangled.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1741670425/articles/w8y1oe5fN1741675180486/1741471966.jpg]
FLEEING THE SCENE
Schwalm shared text messages with the investigators that seemed to back up his story. Ashley had messaged him at 5.23am to say she was going to "zip out" for a hike and that the kids were asleep, so they'd be fine. Schwalm asked her to fill up the gas cans for the snowblower while she was out. She later messaged saying, "Eww I left the gas cans in my car, and it smells."
Another message at 5.46am read, "Oh, I have vertigo. I'm going to rush home." Was that why she lost control of her car? Had the vehicle ignited because of the gasoline she'd bought? Detectives weren't so sure.
Surveillance footage showed a dark figure with a large backpack fleeing the scene of the crash and the police believed it was Schwalm. Records showed that as well as looking up “alimony” on his phone, he had also searched “does a road flare completely burn” and “can you see iPhone history after deleted”.
Ashley had a $1 million life insurance policy and Schwalm was the sole beneficiary. There was also a $250,000 policy for her two children. That would solve Schwalm’s concerns about a costly divorce.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1741670425/articles/w8y1oe5fN1741675180486/7576911716.jpg]
Ashley’s son told the police he’d woken up to hear his parents arguing on 26 January. He’d gone to his mum who had asked him to get her mobile phone – but his dad had told him to go back to bed, which he did. Had Ashley been trying to call for help? At around 3am, the son had woken up again and saw his dad crying. He saw his dad puttin...
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New UK (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 17, 2025