Where Is James Schwalm Now? Inside the Former Fire Captain's Life After Killing His Wife and Attempting to Cover It Up with Arson By Caroline Blair

James Schwalm is a former firefighter who was arrested for killing his wife, Ashley Schwalm, and attempting to cover it up by putting her body in a car and setting it on fire.

The murder was featured on the Nov. 14 episode of Dateline and struck a close chord with correspondent Andrea Canning, who grew up in the town where the murder took place: Collingwood in the Blue Mountains of Ontario, Canada.

“It’s where I grew up and where I got my start as a reporter,” she said in a preview of the episode. “I never expected to cover a Dateline in my own backyard.”

In January 2023, James strangled Ashley to death and then changed her clothing to make it seem like she was going on a hike, per CTV News. He then put her body in a car, made it look like the vehicle had crashed and lit the car on fire.

However, James was arrested around a week later and eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2024. In February 2025, James was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years.

So, where is James Schwalm now? Here’s everything to know about his life after he was caught for killing his wife, Ashley Schwalm.

Who is James Schwalm?

James, who went by Jamie to friends, was raised with two younger sisters in the Toronto area and decided to pursue a career in firefighting after high school, according to Toronto Life. He subsequently joined the Brampton Fire and Emergency Services team and went on to become a captain.

When he wasn’t working, James spent time at the private Craigleith Ski Club in the Blue Mountains. In the early 2010s, James met Ashley at the ski club, and they hit it off. Ashley, who also grew up in the Toronto area, was launching her own interior design company at the time.

“Ashley was someone you could talk to about what was going on in your life,” her long-time friend Carrie Dyson told Toronto Life. “She made everyone feel like the most special person in the world.”

The couple married at Craigleith Ski Club in 2012 in a lavish wedding that focused on their love of the outdoors and included a horse and carriage, four seasonal rooms and a vintage car, she told Wedding Bells magazine, per the Toronto Sun.

“I’ve been picturing that moment since I was a little girl,” she told the publication. “I truly felt like a princess and isn’t that how you’re supposed to feel on your wedding day?”

They bought a home in Collingwood, a town at the foot of the Blue Mountains, and welcomed a son and a daughter. They moved to another home in the area in 2018, but things began to take a turn when they faced financial and marital problems.

What led to Ashley’s death?

James and Ashley’s seemingly picturesque life started to crumble in 2021 while dealing with financial issues and grueling work schedules.

In the summer of 2021, Ashley got a new job and started to have an affair with her boss, Steve, in early 2022, per CBC News. Steve’s wife, Alexandra, and James later found out about the affair in April, but Ashley and James decided to stay together and seek couples therapy.

However, their marriage continued to deteriorate, and both of them told their respective families that they were unsure of their future together. In late 2022, James started to have his own affair with Alexandra, who had since divorced Steve.

By January 2023, James told Alexandra that his feelings for her had grown, and she said that she felt the same way. Just a few days before the murder, James messaged Alexandra that he had made a decision and wanted to be happy.

Later that day, he allegedly asked a doctor about killing someone by snapping their neck and also confided in a friend about expensive legal proceedings and contentious custody arrangements, per the statement of facts obtained by CBC News.

At the time, Ashley had two life insurance policies in place. While their kids would receive $250,000, James was set to get $1 million if Ashley died.

How did James kill his wife and attempt to disguise it?

On the night of Jan. 25, 2023, Ashley and James got into a fight that awoke their son, per CBC News. The boy, who was 9 years old at the time, told police that he checked in on his parents, and his mom asked him to hand her her phone so she could call 911, but she never got the chance.

Their daughter, who was 6 years old at the time, later told police that she woke up after hearing someone falling down. Around 3 a.m. the morning of Jan. 26, the boy saw his dad crying in a room downstairs, and James then told his son that he was going to take their dog for a walk.

Police later determined that James strangled Ashley during their argument. Instead of walking the dog, he changed the clothes on her dead body and put her in her car.

Around 5 a.m., he drove to a parking lot — a spot he checked out the day before — and poured gasoline all over the car. During that time, he also used both of their phones to send text messages to each other to set the scene that she didn’t feel well and smelled gas.

James got in the driver’s seat again and drove the car off the side of the road. He subsequently set the car on fire to make it look like Ashley had been in a car crash and died there. James embarked on a hike near the scene of the crime and picked up his mother’s car that he had asked her to place in a parking lot the day before. He drove the car to another parking lot close to their home and continued on as normal before the police caught up with him.

How was James caught?

Just a few hours after police discovered Ashley’s burnt car, they told James that they had found a car with a body in it and believed that it was his wife. James claimed to investigators that Ashley went for a hike earlier that morning and used the text messages they seemingly exchanged as evidence of their whereabouts.

James initially told authorities that Ashley must have gotten sick from the gas in the car and proposed that she may have accidentally driven off the road and died in the fire.

However, James’ story began to fall apart when investigators found inconsistencies in his version of events and the evidence, including Ashley’s body being on the passenger side and footprints found near the driver’s door.

In the following days, authorities also located video surveillance that disproved James’ alibi of walking their dog, while also finding footage of someone with his build running near the scene of the crime. They went on to search James’ phone and found suspicious searches related to car fires and how to delete iPhone history, per Toronto Life.

Two final pieces of evidence eventually caught up to James, as well. Ashley’s autopsy report determined that she died from strangulation, and there was no evidence of fire killing her. The police also found the lighter that started the fire near the scene of the crime, and it bore James’ initials.

On Feb. 2, 2023, James was arrested for Ashley’s murder.

Where is James now?

James was initially charged with first-degree murder and indignity to a dead body and pleaded not guilty, per CBC News. However, by June 2024, James changed his plea to guilty in exchange for the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

In November 2024, James told the court, per Global News, “I never thought I saw myself capable of these horrendous actions. I despise my actions and am haunted they continue to hurt the people I love and care for the most.”

He added, “This path is not one I thought I could ever take but it is where I shamefully and sadly have put and forced others. This is where I need and deserve to be because of my terrible awful actions.”

After Ashley’s loved ones shared emotional statements that all recommended he not be eligible for parole for as long as possible, the judge sentenced James to life in prison without the chance of parole for 20 years in February 2025.

As for Ashley and James’ two children, they are being cared for by her brother and his wife. They have since moved to a new town, as they testified that their old life is “all gone.” James is also not allowed to contact his kids until they turn 18.

How is Ashley’s murder connected to Dateline correspondent Andrea Canning?

Canning, who reported on the murder for the Nov. 14 episode of Dateline, grew up in the same area where James and Ashley lived. She got her reporting start at local news channel The New VR, according to CTV News Barrie.

“We’re talking to a lot of different people, family, colleagues of Jamie, friends, law enforcement, the OPP – some from the Collingwood detachment, and the lead investigator who is based in Orillia,” Canning told CTV News Barrie of her return.

While researching the case, Canning spoke to some of her former colleagues and people who covered the case at the time.

“It’s just bizarre to have everyone calling you, ‘Hey there’s been a murder, there’s been a murder in Collingwood,’ ” Canning told CTV News videographer Mike Arsalides, who was present for James’ court appearances over the years. “The family now is using this to try to help fight domestic violence.”

Canning also noted an additional common interest that both her family and Ashley’s family felt passionate about. After researching the case, she discovered that they both donated to a local domestic violence shelter.

“And that’s something my family has donated to for years – to My Friend’s House, which makes it even more strange,” Canning said. “This is something we’ve donated to but never really knew anybody that was affected until now.”