Three different murder cases for the deaths of three Collingwood residents between January 2022 and February 2023 have been making their way through the courts this year.
Here's an update on the progress of those cases.
Ashley Schwalm
The body of Ashley Schwalm, 40, was discovered by Ontario Provincial Police on Jan. 26, 2023 at 5:55 a.m. inside a Mitsubishi Outlander sport utility vehicle that had careened down an embankment on Arrowhead Road and caught fire after landing.
On Feb. 3, OPP announced Schwalm's death was the subject of a homicide investigation and that her 38-year-old husband, James Schwalm, had been charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body. On Feb. 17, police announced they had upgraded the charges to first-degree murder.
James Schwalm was a captain with Brampton Fire and Emergency Services, but has since been fired.
None of the charges against James Schwalm have been tested in court.
The case has been in pre-trial status for 2023, with more court dates scheduled for January, April and May 2024.
Kinga 'Kay' Kriston
A murder that took place in Collingwood in June 2022 made its way through the courts in 2023 with the accused, John Collins, pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
On Dec. 14, 2023, Collins entered a guilty plea in court, confessing the gruesome details from the night he killed Kinga 'Kay' Kriston in her home on Alyssa Drive, where Collins had also been living.
According to the agreed statement of facts read in court, Collins, who was 57 at the time of the murder, killed Kriston, who was 55 years old, on June 4, 2022, by first beating her with a golf club, then with his hands, before strangling her also with his hands.
Collins stayed in the house with Kriston's body until June 10, when one of her friends came into the house and discovered her body.
Kriston was mourned by a large community of friends and fellow real estate agents who knew her. Hundreds of people, including Kriston's family, turned up for a vigil at Sunset Point on June 15, 2022.
A joint submission from the prosecution and defence asked for a life imprisonment sentence (which is mandatory for second-degree murder convictions) and no chance of parole for 16 years.
Collins is due back in court on Jan. 9, 2024 for sentencing.
Donald Caines
Ontario Provincial Police discovered the body of 57-year-old Donald Caines in a Collingwood apartment on Hurontario Street on Jan. 14, 2022.
Caines' 54-year-old brother, Lawrence Robert Caines, was charged for Donald's murder and was convicted in 2023 in court of unlawfully causing his brother's death.
However, the court found that Lawrence Caines suffered from a mental disorder that rendered him incapable of knowing that his act was morally wrong. Officially, the courts found Lawrence Caines not criminally responsible for his brother's death.
A judge ordered Robert Caines placed in treatment for his mental disorder.
According to the background information included in court documents, Lawrence came to Collingwood in December 2021 and was mentally unwell at the time, expressing to family members that his wife, and later other family members, were "demons."
He was admitted to hospital multiple times for aggression and bizarre behaviour and received treatment for mental health disorders including bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The court heard that Lawrence Caines had a traumatic childhood that included domestic violence, sexual assault and time spent in foster care.
Lawrence went to Donald's apartment to stay with his brother on Jan. 9, 2022.
The court heard several incidents to indicate instability in Lawrence's mental health leading up to him killing his brother.
Two cellphones found by police during the homicide investigation contained videos of Lawrence spraying Lysol into his own mouth and telling his brother to drink Lysol.
Videos showed the brothers arguing and struggling in the bedroom. Lawrence referred to Donald as a "devil lover," and said Donald had a "demon" inside of him.
Lawrence posted the videos to Facebook, prompting a niece to call police (for the second time that week) asking for a wellness check. When nobody answered the door and officers heard glass breaking inside, they forced the door open and entered the apartment.
Police found Donald dead in the bathroom, and it appeared his eyes were gouged out.
"The descriptors cruel, savage, and inhuman all apply to Mr. Caines' actions," stated Superior Court Justice Michelle K. Fuerst in a written report.
Lawrence jumped from the apartment window, falling 11 feet onto a roof below. Wearing only underwear and a filtered mask, Lawrence ran through a parking lot and into a store where he grabbed a bottle of soap and left. Police used a stun gun on him before taking him into custody.
The court heard that Lawrence, after receiving some treatment for his mental illness, felt terrible about killing his brother. He told the doctor completing his psychiatric evaluation in February 2022 that he thought he was killing the devil, not his brother.
Lawrence Caines is currently in jail, where he is not receiving treatment for his diagnosis of bipolar 1 disorder, the most serious of mood disorders in terms of symptoms, and a life-long disorder. Lawrence is receiving mood-stabilizing and other medications, and, according to psychiatric evaluations appears to be co-operating and his mental illness is improving.
He is awaiting a bed at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene.
