Skip to content

UPDATE: Gabriola murder victim connected to island's last homicide

The victim in Wednesday’s killing on Gabriola Island was the common-law wife of the victim in the island’s last murder in April, 2005.

UPDATE: Jason Daniel Cramer appeared in Nanaimo Provincial court Friday, where he was charged with one count of second degree murder in the Aug. 3 death of Elaine Schwartz, 50, and one count of attempted murder in the attack on her 18-year-old son Trevor Schwartz, who remains in hospital in Victoria recovering from his injuries.

Cramer was remanded and is scheduled to make his next court appearance in Nanaimo on Sept. 13.

 

 

The victim in Wednesday’s killing on Gabriola Island was the common-law wife of the victim in the island’s last murder in April, 2005.

The body of Elaine Schwartz, 50, was discovered by Gabriola RCMP around 5 p.m. at her Harrison Way residence following a 911 call.

Schwartz’s 18-year-old son, Trevor, was found severely injured in a separate residence on the property. He remains in Victoria General Hospital in serious but stable condition.

Jason Daniel Cramer, 37, of Gabriola Island, was arrested Thursday morning as a person of interest in the death and assault following a manhunt on the island. He was arrested near the scene by RCMP Emergency Response Team members and is scheduled to appear in court Friday (Aug. 5).

Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, would not comment on the relationship between Schwartz and Cramer, the cause of death, what weapon was used, if any, or who made the 911 call to Gabriola RCMP.

Schwartz was at the Nanaimo courthouse in March, 2007, when Terrance Raymond Corrigan was sentenced to six years in jail for manslaughter in the 2005 killing of her common-law husband, Charles Howard McCoy.

Corrigan spent two years in jail and was credited four years for time served awaiting trial. He was eligible for release after 18 months.

He killed McCoy with a hatchet after consuming a considerable amount of drugs and alcohol.

O’Brien said investigators are aware of the relationship between Schwartz and Corrigan.

“We’ll take a look at it and see if there is any correlation to this incident,” he said.

Schwartz was a happy person who always had time to say hello to neighbour.

Randi Thomassen was one of those neighbours – living on Gabriola Island’s Harrison Way just down the road from Schwartz.

“She was a homemaker with two great kids,” said Thomassen. “We didn’t socialize, but the Gabriola community is so small, everybody knows everybody.

“She was always friendly, and when we would see each other we would stop and say a few words. I can’t speak ill of her.”

She said Schwartz's death is "absolutely shocking".

“I didn’t know Jason. Elaine had lived here 10 or 11 year, but he had only lived in the neighbourhood a couple of months.”