Crown seeks 13 years jail for 70-year-old who killed 22-year-old Chelsey Gauthier, buried her in shallow grave in woods near Mission

by Paul Henderson 3 days ago 4 min read

Defence seeking less time for Gary Losch citing mitigating factors in sentencing hearing Wednesday

A collage of photos of Chelsey Gauthier, a 22-year-old mother of two, was set up on an easel in courtroom 403 in B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford this week.

The somewhat unusual display was allowed by Judge Dev Dley and not opposed by defence counsel for 70-year-old Gary Donald Losch who killed Gauthier eight years ago and buried her half-naked body in a shallow grave in a wooded area near Mission.

Losch took Gauthier on July 27, 2017, to help him tend to his marijuana grow hidden in the forest on the slopes of Dewdney Peak.

The next day when Losch’s friend Bill Rinz returned to pick them up on Sylvester Road near the trail to the secluded grow, only the then 62-year-old emerged from the woods.

Two days later a missing person’s report was filed, and on Aug. 2, a former assistant to Losch took police officers to the location but they found nothing. On Aug. 16, more officers searched the area and Gauthier was found deceased in a shallow grave.

READ FULL STORY: Killer out on bail: Gary Losch convicted of manslaughter & indignity to human remains for killing 22-year-old Chelsey Gauthier

It took five years of investigation by the Lower Mainland’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), but on Sept. 10, 2022, Losch was charged with second-degree murder and interference with a dead body. After a lengthy trial earlier this year, Justice Dev Dley found Losch guilty of the lesser-included charge of manslaughter and the interference.

A two-day sentencing hearing began Tuesday (Dec. 2, 2025) and continued Wednesday morning. As of this writing, the court is on lunch break scheduled to continue in the afternoon.

Crown counsel began it’s submissions Tuesday with much of the day dedicated to lengthy and heart-wrenching victim impact statements from family and friends. Crown wrapped up Wednesday asking for a sentence of 13 years for the manslaughter and two years for the interference with a dead body.

While second-degree murder comes with a sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility between 10 and 25 years, manslaughter sentences typically range between four and 15 years, above or below which would require special circumstance.

The low end is for offences considered closer to an accident, while the high end is near murder. Crown counsel explained Losch’s killing of Gauthier is aggravated manslaughter or near murder.

Losch’s defence counsel began later Wednesday morning with a discussion of how the judge needs to weight moral blameworthiness and the gravity of the offence. There was brief mention of Losch identifying as Indigenous, but no Gladue report was prepared.

💡

Gladue is the legal concept from the 1999 Supreme Court of Canada R. v. Gladue decision that requires courts to consider the unique systemic and background factors affecting Indigenous people when sentencing them. Factors include Canada’s history of colonialism, intergenerational trauma, systemic discrimination, loss of culture, and often poverty.

Judge Dley interrupted to ask why no Gladue report was prepared and since it was not, how should this Indigenous identification be considered. Losch’s lawyer said they were not asking the court to treat Losch as an Indigenous offender, and that an attempt was made to create a Gladue report but there was no way to corroborate Losch’s claim. Losch also declined to waive his right to a Gladue report, which could be a problem if were ever to appeal.

“What is going to happen if there is an appeal of the sentence?” Justice Dley asked. “Is that an issue that is going to be raised. He is entitled to a Gladue report.”

“I don’t expect so…” his lawyer started, before Dley interrupted.

“It’s not a question of expecting so, I want to make sure Mr. Losch understands all of his rights.”

The matter was not resolved in the morning portion of the sentencing, but was to be discussed in the afternoon.

Other mitigating factors presented by Losch’s lawyer included that he has had multiple head injuries over the years, two car accidents, once was hit with an axe in the head during a home invasion, and once was struck by a car on his bike.

His lawyer said Losch has “relatively limited mental cognition capacity” with Grade 6 level problem solving skills.

The sentencing hearing continued at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

-30-

Want to support independent journalism?
Consider becoming a paid subscriber or make a one-time donation so I can continue this work.

Paul J. Henderson
pauljhenderson@gmail.com
facebook.com/PaulJHendersonJournalist
instagram.com/wordsarehard_pjh
x.com/PeeJayAitch
wordsarehard-pjh.bsky.social