Friends, family of murdered B.C. mom gather in courtroom to read victim impact statements

Friends and family of a 22-year-old B.C. woman who was found in a shallow grave in Mission in 2017 gathered at a courthouse in Abbotsford on Tuesday as the man accused of killing her appeared in court.

Abbotsford, B.C., 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 a suspect, Gary Donald 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.

Chelsey’s father, Raymond Gauthier, appeared via video to read his victim impact statement and became overwhelmed with emotions within seconds.

“When Chelsey died, a part of me died,” he said.

“Her loss is overwhelming and could’ve have been avoided. She didn’t have to die. She would never hurt a soul.”

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Raymond said even now, eight years later, there is not a day that goes by that he doesn’t think about his daughter or feel the sorrow in his heart over what happened to her.

He said holidays mean nothing to him anymore.

“What happened to Chelsey was an injustice and a tragedy.”

Chelsey had two young girls when she went missing in 2017.

2:09 67-year-old man charged in connection to 2017 homicide of Abbotsford’s Chelsey Gauthier

Kristin Lecuyer knew Chelsey from a young age and she is now the guardian of her two daughters.

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When she read out her victim impact statement in court on Tuesday, Losch was sobbing.

“I feel like, as if for the first time in this entire process, even if it’s only to himself, that he’s acknowledging the tragedy he created,” Lecuyer told Global News.

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“That’s it. He is feeling for the first time that I’ve ever seen a form of remorse, and I think that is the most important. I just hope it’s real.”

Lecuyer said they are doing everything they can for Chelsey’s daughters to help empower them with a solid sense of self and always tell them stories of their mom.

“They’re amazing kids,” she said. “I can’t let them hear me say that, but they are and even at 10 and 11, they’re so much like their mom in so many ways, and yet still unique in individuals.”

Lecuyer said she knows Chelsey would be so proud of them.

“I would say we actually talk about Chelsey and her different things, like weekly, if not every other day,” she added.

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“It’s just part of our life, part of our conversation, keeping Chelsey visible and in the forefront of their minds.”

1:49 67-year-old man charged in connection to 2017 homicide of Abbotsford, B.C.’s Chelsey Gauthier

There were 11 victim impact statements read in the courtroom on Thursday.

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Losch, now 70, cried when Lecuyer spoke about how Chelsey’s daughters miss their mom and he could be heard whispering, “I’m sorry.”

Crown counsel said in court that Losch had many previous convictions, including property crimes, drug offences and five violent crimes.

They said Losch had limited chances of rehabilitation and detailed how Chelsey was found naked from the waist down in the shallow grave although investigators could not prove if there was any evidence of sexual assault or not.

They said Losch also buried Chelsey in a shallow grave and then denied knowing where she was.

Chelsey’s friend Kasadee York, who started a petition to demand the maximum sentence for Losch, was also at court on Thursday and said it has been eight long years of trying to get justice and answers.

She said it has been debilitating, waiting so long for justice, but she is hoping they can get some for Chelsey.

“She was just like one of those friends that only comes around once in a lifetime,” York added.

“She was super bubbly, always knew how to make you laugh, just one of those friends that you could always count on.”

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