Love Marry Kill

Just before dawn on January 26th, 2023, a passing volunteer firefighter spotted a car engulfed in flames at the bottom of an embankment outside Collingwood, Ontario. Inside, firefighters found a body burned beyond recognition in the passenger seat — but no driver anywhere to be found. The car belonged to Ashley Schwalm, a devoted mother of two, and her husband, fire captain James Schwalm, said she'd left home that snowy morning for an early hike while he walked the dog. On the surface, it looked like a tragic accident on an icy road, but missing skid marks, a body on the wrong side of the car, and a husband's story that didn't quite hold up soon pointed investigators somewhere much darker. What followed was a meticulous investigation into a secretly unraveling marriage, an elaborate cover-up staged by a man trained to fight fires, not set them, and the digital trail that finally exposed the truth.

Support us: https://patreon.com/lovemarrykill

Today’s snack: Pimento cheese sandwich and chess pie

Sources:
Dateline, S34 E8, “Running Man.”
ABC 20/20, S48 E16, “Footprints in the Snow.”
Bogdan, Sawyer, and Catherine McDonald. “Ex-Ontario Firefighter Pleads Guilty to Wife’s Murder After Body Found in Flaming Car.” Global News, 20 June 2024.
D'Andrea, Aaron, and Catherine McDonald. “‘Cold, Callous’: Ex-Ontario Fire Captain Who Murdered Wife Handed Life Sentence.” Global News, 10 Feb. 2025.
McDonald, Catherine. “Ex-Ontario Fire Captain Who Murdered Wife ‘a Monster,’ Judge Told at Sentencing Hearing.” Global News, 25 Nov. 2024.
New Jersey Domestic Violence Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board. “NJ Domestic Violence Fatality / Near Fatality Review Board 2021 Annual Report.” State of New Jersey, 2021.
Ontario Superior Court of Justice. R. v. Schwalm, 2025 ONSC 864. CanLII / minicounsel, heard by Justice Michelle Fuerst, 10 Feb. 2025.
Phillips, Kim. “Dateline NBC Spotlights Murder of Collingwood’s Ashley Schwalm in Two-Hour Special.” CTV News Barrie, 14 Nov. 2025.
Singh, Arvind. “Ashley Schwalm Case on Dateline - A Complete Timeline of Events.” Sportskeeda, 15 Nov. 2025.

In 2023, when Kristil Krug began receiving harassing messages from an apparent stalker, her world was turned upside down. As the messages became more threatening and personal, she went to police for help, but tracking down her stalker proved challenging. On December 14 Kristil’s husband, Dan, contacted police to perform a welfare check at their home when he couldn’t reach her. Kristil’s worst fears had come true, but the person who had been terrorizing her was much closer to home than anyone realized.

Today's snack: Peanut butter cookie sandwiches

Support us on Patreon

Sources:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the-krug-family 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgV-7qRdKvA Dan’s police interview
Halvern, Judd. (2025). Inside the House: The Murder of Kristil Krug. Thomas Loyd Publishers (Kindle edition)
https://www.wespoke.org/motherslost/kristil-krug
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1187577249/?match=1&terms=%22Kristil%20Krug%22&search-id=de176e1b-2e3b-4ee0-b259-964fe78b8b0a&search-rank=1
https://adamsbroomfieldda.org/blog/15067/Update-Broomfield-Defendant-Sentenced-to-Life-in-Prison-Without-Parole-Following-Conviction-for-Murdering-Stalking-Wife-After-Multi-Week-Trial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQA1OCty9wg 48 Hours
https://www.hulu.com/watch/87ffc3db-4c82-443e-92d1-112ea5281f95 20/20
https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/playback/vod/GMO_00000001008027_01/ef4254f0-10fb-3a02-9fef-a4a30ac32442 Dateline
https://www.horancares.com/obituaries/kristil-grimsrud-krug
https://www.broomfield.org/DocumentCenter/View/44083/Press-Release-December-18-2023---Promontory-Loop-Homicide-Arrest?bidId=
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/281796442/kristil-krug
https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/in-the-news/dateline-full-episode-the-phantom-rcna234785
https://people.com/where-is-daniel-krug-now-11817939
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/companies-must-now-quickly-respond-stalking-warrants-oregon-new-law-ta-rcna342379\
https://5280.com/why-wasnt-kristil-krugs-murderer-caught/

On the afternoon of July 5th, 2012, New Springville schoolteacher Simeonette Mapes-Crupi was found stabbed to death inside her own Staten Island home, just two days before what would have been her fifth wedding anniversary. Her husband, fellow teacher Jonathan Crupi, told police he'd come home to find the house ransacked. On the surface, it looked like a burglary gone wrong, but the deeper investigators looked, the more the "robbery" theory started to fall apart. What followed was a years-long investigation full of dead ends, a scoured crime scene, and a trail of digital evidence that would eventually crack the case wide open.

Today's snack: Peanut Butter Passport (thanks Carla!)

Support us on Patreon

Sources:"NYC School Teacher Simonette Mapes-Crupi Found Brutally Stabbed To Death." CBS New York, 5 July 2012, www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-school-teacher-found-fatally-stabbed-inside-staten-island-apartment/ 
"Family Of Slain NYC Schoolteacher Honoring Their Daughter With Charity Work." CBS New York, 17 Sept. 2012, www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/family-of-slain-nyc-schoolteacher-honoring-their-daughter-with-charity-work/ 
Mehrotra, Kriti. "Where is Jonathan Crupi Now? Update on Simeonette Mapes' Husband and Killer." Moviedelic, 4 May 2025, moviedelic.com/jonathan-crupi/ 
New York Times. "Brooklyn Teacher Is Fatally Stabbed." The New York Times, 5 July 2012.
Dateline, S33 E27, “Secrets of the Sliding Door.”
Rizzi, Nicholas. "Staten Island Man Sentenced to 25 to Life for Murdering Wife." DNAinfo, 23 Sept. 2015, www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150923/new-springville/staten-island-man-sentenced-25-life-for-murdering-wife-da-says 
Shortland, Gail. "Cheating Husband Killed His Wife to Stop Her Finding Out About His Secret Sex Sessions with Prostitutes." Mirror, 25 Oct. 2015, www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/cheating-husband-killed-wife-stop-6692290 
"Simeonette 'Sissy' Mapes Crupi (1982–2012)." Find a Grave, Memorial ID 100688377, www.findagrave.com/memorial/100688377/simeonette-crupi 
New York City Council. "A Local Law in Relation to the Naming of 63 Thoroughfares and Public Places." The New York City Council, Law No. 2014/034, enacted 9 July 2014, legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=1819346&GUID=DC534F75-60A2-4136-AA22-4D335C4F06E3 
Annese, John. "Teacher Found Brutally Slain in Her Home." Staten Island Advance, 6 July 2012, p. A10.
"Slain Woman’s Kin Want Justice." Staten Island Advance, 13 July 2012, p. A12.
Annese, John. "Cold in Her Grave – And the Killer’s at Large." Staten Island Advance, 2 Aug. 2012, p. A7.
Annese, John. "Accused Wife Killer Hears Slurs in Court." Staten Island Advance, 15 Nov. 2012, p. A3.
Donnelly, Frank. "Warrants Valid in Search of Alleged Wife-Killer's Home." Staten Island Advance, 14 Apr. 2015, p. A5.
Donnelly, Frank. "Crupi Gets 25 to Life in Wife's Slaying." Staten Island Advance, 24 Sept. 2015, p. A14.
Staten Island Advance. "Family of Simeonette Mapes React after Jonathan Crupi Found Guilty." YouTube, July 2015.

In 1980, Betty and Allan Gore and Candy and Pat Montgomery seemed to have much in common. They were raising young families, active in the same small Methodist church, and navigating the pressures of marriage, careers, and parenthood in the growing suburbs north of Dallas. This three-part series follows the relationships that developed between the two couples, the affair that changed all of their lives, and the investigation and trial that became one of the most talked-about murder cases in Texas history.

Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/lovemarrykill

Today's snack: Texas sheet cake

In 1980, Betty and Allan Gore and Candy and Pat Montgomery seemed to have much in common. They were raising young families, active in the same small Methodist church, and navigating the pressures of marriage, careers, and parenthood in the growing suburbs north of Dallas. This three-part series follows the relationships that developed between the two couples, the affair that changed all of their lives, and the investigation and trial that became one of the most talked-about murder cases in Texas history.

Listen to part 3 today on Patreon

Today's snack: Fried spaghetti