Trial begins for man accused in 2017 murder of Abbotsford mother of two

A 10-week trial has begun for a man accused of murder and indignity to human remains in the 2017 death of a young Métis mother.

Eight years after police discovered the body of missing Abbotsford woman Chelsey Gauthier in a shallow grave, the trial has finally begun for the man accused of killing her.

Gary Losch faces charges of second-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains.

“I am innocent,” Losch loudly declared twice from the dock as the court clerk asked him how he pleaded to each of the charges.

Friends and family reported 22-year-old Gauthier missing in July of 2017 after not hearing from the Metis mother of two for several days, which they said was very out of character.

In his opening statement, prosecutor Andrew MacDonald told the court evidence and witness testimony will show Gauthier met up with Losch, then 62 years old, at an Abbotsford McDonald’s on July 27 before a third person drove them to a remote forested area in Mission and dropped them off.

The Crown alleges Losch had an outdoor marijuana grow operation in a clearing in the rugged hillside and had hired Gauthier to help him tend to the plants.

Her friends and family would never see her alive again.

The court heard police located Gauthier’s body, naked from the waist down and wrapped in a sheet, buried near the location of the alleged grow-op.

Investigators did not arrest Losch until more than five years after the discovery of the body.

It has taken another two-and-a-half years for the case to get to trial, where it is being heard by a judge with no jury at the Abbotsford Law Courts.

“This case is a circumstantial case. It is a case where opportunity is a significant feature of the case,” MacDonald said.

The ten-week trial could turn on applications the defense is expected to file asking for some evidence to be excluded based on Charter challenges.

“Our client has maintained his innocence. Today in court he is maintaining his plea of not guilty,” said Sarah Leamon, one of three lawyers on Losch’s defence team. “At this point, because the matter is currently before the court, it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further than that.”

Several of Gauthier’s friends and family sat in the gallery on the first day of the trial, and say they plan to attend as much as they can – even if the testimony is hard to listen to.

“Every anniversary, every one of her birthdays, every pre-trial and everything, I’ve been to almost every single one,” said friend Jayden Silvester. “Each time it opens up that wound again. So, it would be nice to finally put it to rest alongside with her.”

The Crown plans to call police officers, DNA experts and witnesses who knew the victim and the suspect.

It is not clear if Losch will take the stand in his own defence.