Image: Change.org / Thousands have now signed a petition to give the maximum sentence for a 2017 killing of Chelsey Gauthier in Abbotsford.

By Alyssa Conti

GROWING PETITION

Petition demands maximum sentence for killing of Abbotsford woman

Oct 4, 2025 | 8:01 AM

ABBOTSFORD — Thousands of supporters are calling for a harsher sentence after a recent manslaughter sentence for the killing of an Abbotsford woman over eight years ago.

This July, the Supreme Court of B.C. convicted 69-year-old Gary Losch of manslaughter for the stabbing death of Chelsey Lea Gauthier.

A petition from Kasadee York now hopes to ensure he receives the maximum sentence allowable by law.

“My best friend, Chelsey Lea Gauthier, a 22-year-old Indigenous mother of two, was brutally taken from us,” said York.

“Chelsey was a vibrant young woman, full of life and dreams for a future with her children. The anguish of her absence is compounded by the feeling that justice has not been fully served.”

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A circumstantial case

Court documents show that in July 2017, Gauthier and Losch were dropped off in a rural area of Mission near the intersection of Dale Road and Sylvester Road to help him with his marijuana grow.

She would not be seen until the month after, when her body was found buried in a shallow grave near Losch’s tent – partially wrapped in a sheet, and naked from the waist down, with a stab wound through the back of her chest.

Despite the scene, Judge Dev Dley stated that the evidence was not enough to prove that Losch intended to kill Gauthier.

“I am unable to draw inferences as to Mr. Losch’s state of mind when the stabbing occurred,” said Dley. “As a result, Mr. Losch is guilty of the included offence of manslaughter.”

Losch also faces a charge of interfering with a dead body. He’s set to be sentenced in December this year in Abbotsford.

“We demand that Gary Donald Losch receives the maximum sentence allowable by law for his horrific actions. It is imperative not only for Chelsey’s family but also as a statement that society will not tolerate such acts of violence and disrespect, particularly against Indigenous women,” York added.

York’s petition has garnered 6,860 signatures at the time of writing.