Killer of a 22-year-old woman convicted of manslaughter, homicide team says

ABBOTSFORD — A man originally accused of the second-degree murder of a young woman from Abbotsford, B.C., has been found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Twenty-two-year-old Chelsey Gauthier was reported missing to the Abbotsford Police Department in July 2017 and her body was found in August.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Gary Losch appeared in a B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford this week, where Justice Dev Dley found him not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

Losch was also convicted of indignity to human remains in relation to the death of Gauthier.

Homicide team spokeswoman Cpl. Sukhi Dhesi says it was a tragic crime that has left a “profound impact” on Gauthier’s family and her community.

Her father, Ray Gauthier, says in a statement that his daughter will not be forgotten and he wears a green ribbon to remember Chelsey because it was her favourite colour.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July. 24, 2025.