A violent single-vehicle crash in The Blue Mountains late last week is now part of a homicide investigation.
Collingwood and The Blue Mountains OPP confirmed today James Schwalm, 38, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body as part of the police investigation. Police confirmed late Friday that the alleged victim is his wife, Ashley Schwalm, 40. The couple is from Collingwood.
On Jan. 26, before 5:55 a.m. OPP report a grey Mitsubishi Outlander sport utility vehicle was travelling north on Arrowhead Road south of Highway 26 when it careened down an embankment and caught fire after landing. Police say there was a body inside the vehicle.
On Feb. 3, police identified the victim and accused.
"There is a publication ban in effect," OPP Sgt. Bill Dickson told CollingwoodToday late Friday. "We can't say anything evidentiary."
The accused was held for a bail hearing on Friday. None of the charges have been proven in court.
The investigation is ongoing, with the Collingwood OPP crime unit getting support from the Office of the Fire Marshal, Ontario Forensic Pathology Services, the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, OPP Forensic Identification Services, OPP Regional Support Team, OPP Technical Collision Investigators and Reconstructionists, and the OPP Emergency Response Team (ERT).
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Collingwood OPP at 705-445-4321 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
