Sentencing delayed for killer of Chelsey Gauthier of Abbotsford

The sentencing hearing for the man who killed Chelsey Gauthier of Abbotsford in 2017 has been adjourned to await a report that addresses his Indigenous heritage.

The hearing for Gary Losch, 70, began Tuesday (Dec. 1) in B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford and was due to conclude on Wednesday.

But it arose in court that a Gladue report had not been completed on Losch’s behalf.

This is a specialized pre-sentence report that looks at potential generational trauma that a person of Indigenous heritage might have experienced and which might have contributed to their offence.

A judge takes information from the report into consideration when making a sentencing decision.

Justice Dev Dley was informed by the lawyers that a Gladue report had previously been ordered for Losch, and he had been interviewed by someone with Gladue Services through the BC First Nations Justice Council.

The individual determined there were “no Indigenous or Gladue factors” to consider in relation to Losch and that no further steps needed to be taken, said Crown lawyer Andrew MacDonald.

But no report was completed to provide that information to the court.

Losch indicated in court that he wants a Gladue report to be completed and said he has more information he wants to share with the interviewer.

Dley said he did not want to proceed with the remainder of the sentencing hearing without the report.

He said doing so runs the risk of any sentencing decision being appealed and the matter taking even longer to conclude.

“I appreciate the frustration that everybody must feel. This is not an easy exercise for anyone coming to court to relive what’s happened, but we must make sure that justice is done properly,” the justice said.

Losch’s lawyers said they will now connect with Gladue Services to determine how long it might take for a report to be ready. The lawyers and judge will speak briefly on Monday (Dec. 8) for an update and to determine when they will be back in court.

A Gladue report typically takes about eight weeks to prepare, but because much of the preliminary work has already been done in Losch’s case, it’s hoped that the process can be accelerated.

Losch was convicted in July – after his trial – of manslaughter and indignity to human remains in relation to the stabbing death of Gauthier.

Gauthier, whose remains were found in August 2017 at the site of Losch’s marijuana grow-op in Mission, was 22 at the time and the single mom of two young daughters.

The Crown on Tuesday (Dec. 2) recommended that Losch receive a 14-year sentence – 12 years for manslaughter and two years for the indignity charge.

Defence lawyer Sarah Leamon on Wednesday said the sentence for both crimes should be in the range of eight to 10 years.