Man who killed young Abbotsford mother in 2017 sentenced to 12 years

The man convicted in the 2017 killing of an Abbotsford, B.C., woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Gary Donald Losch was sentenced to two years in jail for interfering with a dead body and 10 years for manslaughter, but he will get credit for time served.

Abbotsford mother Chelsey Lea Gauthier was stabbed to death in 2017 and found in a shallow grave in an isolated wooded area of Mission.

Police arrested Losch on Sept. 9, 2022. Losch was charged the next day with second-degree murder and interference with a dead body or indignity to human remains.

Justice S. Dev Dley said at the sentencing on Thursday that Losch had not taken any responsibility for Gauthier’s death.

“Mr. Losch is going to spend many years in prison, at an age when years become more precious,” Dley said.

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“Killing Ms. Gauthier was a senseless act…. no sentence can restore Ms. Gauthier’s life or return her to her friends and family.”

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Dley also waived the victim surcharge Losch would have to pay to Gauthier’s family as there was no expectation Losch would be able to pay.

In early December, Losch stunned the courtroom during his sentencing hearing when he admitted guilt in Gauthier’s death, saying he was moved by the victim impact statements the day before.

Chelsey’s cousin, Amanda Gauthier, told Global News on Thursday that she hoped Losch would be put away for a long time.

“Any second that he is out and about, I worry for everyone, certainly especially my families and my children,” she said.

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“I have four children. I worry about them every day.”

2:04 Sentencing hearing begins for man convicted in 2017 homicide

On July 27, 2017, 22-year-old Chelsey Gautheir was hired by Losch to work in his illegal marijuana grow-up near Mission.

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Her body was found weeks later in a remote area and she had no clothes on from the waist down.

In a police interview from 2022, just before being charged, Losch denied any culpability in Gauthier’s death, saying he was framed.

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