Yellowknife woman who died in 2019 identified as American fugitive wanted in fatal crash

Kate Dooley, who lived in Yellowknife, died in December 2019. (Submitted by Kimberley Smale.)

A woman who lived in Yellowknife has been identified as a U.S. fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal drunk driving incident in Scottsdale, Arizona, police said.

Gloria Schulze, who lived in Yellowknife under the name Kate Dooley, was charged after crashing into a vehicle driven by Angela Maher, 21, who was picking up a friend while visiting the city. Police said the investigation revealed Dooley had been drinking and smoking marijuana the night of the incident.

Maher died from her injuries.

Dooley, who died in 2019, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and three counts of endangerment but fled the state while awaiting trial.

Investigators said it's still unclear exactly when Dooley arrived in Yellowknife.

A friend of Dooley's previously told My True North Now in an obituary that she arrived in Yellowknife in the “early 1990s.”

In 2001, the case was tried in absentia, that is, without Dooley, and she was found guilty on all counts.

In 2014, the case was assigned to a detective from the Criminal Investigation Unit.

Sgt. Scottsdale Police Department public information sergeant Allison Sempsis told CBC the search never ended.

“We would get random tips here and there over the years,” she said, “but they never amounted to anything.”

After the case was assigned to another Scottsdale police detective in 2020, investigators spoke to Dooley's brother, who said he received an “anonymous phone call” informing him that she had died of cancer in Yellowknife in 2019.

Through various open source search engines, investigators say they found an article about a celebration honoring a woman named Kate Dooley, who died of cancer on December 1, 2019.

The article also contained a photo of Dooley, which resembled Schulze's photo based on his age.

The Dooley in question was arrested in Yellowknife in 2009 for drunk driving, and the RCMP still had her fingerprints on file.

After analysis by the Scottsdale crime lab, the FBI and Interpol, they were found to be a match.

Police say senior analysts are currently speaking with friends of Dooley to better piece together the story.

Sempsis said detectives spoke to two friends of Dooley in Yellowknife, who had no idea of ​​his true identity.

Dooley known as a 'private person'

After his death, friends found books in his possession explaining how to change your identity. Sempsis said his friends found other “strange things” with his belongings, but gave no further details.

Dooley was known as a “private person” known for working in mining camps and as a house painter.

His friend Kim Smale said she knew nothing about his life in the United States or his involvement in a fatal drunk driving accident.

“It was a shock to all of us who knew her,” she told CBC. “She kept her personal life very private.”

Dooley was known in Yellowknife as a “master pyrotechnics” for her long-time participation in local fireworks shows.

The Schulze case has gained a significant presence on the Internet and has been featured on various television shows like America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries.

Police said Dooley's family maintained they did not know where she was.

Scottsdale police are continuing their investigation in collaboration with Yellowknife RCMP.