ABC 20/20 to air story of Ont. fire captain convicted of Collingwood murder tonight

ABC 20/20 True Crime presents Footprints in the Snow, featuring the January 2023 murder of Ashley Milnes in Collingwood by her husband, James Schwalm.

Warning: Details in this article contain disturbing details that describe acts of intimate partner violence that may be triggering to readers.

ABC 20/20 True Crime presents Footprints in the Snow with a two-hour episode Friday night, featuring the January 2023 murder of Ashley Milnes in Collingwood by her husband, Brampton fire captain, James Schwalm.

The case made national headlines starting in 2023 and centred around efforts by provincial police investigators who pieced together clues from the scene of a fiery crash in the Town of the Blue Mountains that led to the arrest days later of James Schwalm, who ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder ahead of trial.

20/20 correspondent Juju Chang followed the story of the murder of Ashley Milnes, whose body was discovered in a scorched vehicle down an embankment along Arrowhead Road on a snowy morning January 26, 2023. At the time of the crash, it was unclear what had caused the vehicle to veer off the road, but investigators quickly realized the wreck was no accident.

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“Clearly they are a reflection of the excellence of investigations in Canada and the system there,” said Chang. “But in addition to that, the forensic lab, the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto, did this world-class investigation into the wreckage of the car, turning the entire wreck into a crime scene.”

Among several locations, that included the Bahamas to speak with Milnes’ father about the case, Chang and the 20/20 team travelled to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto to learn how police proved the crash scene had been staged and Schwalm murdered his wife inside their home following an argument.

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The Brampton firefighter lived in Collingwood with his wife of eleven years and their two young children, who were home the night their mother was killed. Schwalm told police, when brought in for questioning, that Ashley had gone for a hike earlier that morning and never returned home. Schwalm appeared “distraught” according to investigators and offered assistance to police. He told police she had suffered from recent fainting spells and likely crashed down the embankment following a medical emergency. The evidence, however, told detective a different story.

As police spoke with friends and family members and delved deeper into case, investigators quickly learned of a shattered marriage, and infidelity that drove the couple increasingly apart. Investigators went to tremendous lengths to re-trace the route Schwalm said he took that morning he said he walked the family dog. Detectives knew Schwalm’s story was not adding up, and his version of events did not align with the evidence collected at the scene of the fire.

Milnes, the court heard as part of an Agreed Statement of Facts, died of strangulation in her home hours prior to the staged crash. Her body had been doused with gasoline and set ablaze by Schwalm.

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During his guilty plea to second-degree murder in June 2024, Schwalm admitted to killing Ashley, and dressing her in hiking clothing, exchanging text messages with her phone, all to make it appear as if Ashley was alive and left the home for her hike that morning.

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Schwalm was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years. He is also ordered not to communicate with his children.

Footprints in the Snow airs on ABC at 9 p.m.