A man has been charged with second-degree murder and desecration of human remains in connection with the 2017 slaying of Chelsea Gauthier of Abbotsford.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team announced the development at a news conference on Saturday. Gary Loesch, who is in his 60s, was arrested on Friday and remains in custody. Police said Saturday that Loesch is known to police.
Investigators have not released any details about the young woman’s murder, but said Los hired Gauthier to work for him before she disappeared.
“He had a marijuana grow in that area and he had hired Ms. Gauthier to go and cut marijuana plants,” said Sgt. Tim Pierotti with IHIT.
Pierotti says the cultivation is located near where Gauthier’s body was found.
A photo released by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team shows Gary Loesch, who has been charged with second-degree murder.
Gauthier was 22 years old when she was last seen on the morning of July 27, 2017. She was in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Abbotsford, according to information provided to police at the time of her disappearance. Police did not say if she was with anyone else. She was reported missing on July 30 and her body was found just over two weeks later in Mission.
Gauthier’s friends and family attended today’s news conference held outside the Abbotsford Police Department. Some expressed frustration at how long it took to make arrests and charges.
“We all knew his character. He had threatened a friend of ours. There were just a lot of things pointing to him,” said Jayden Sylvester, a friend of Chelsea’s.
Losh is due in court on Sept. 16 in Abbotsford.
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