Guilty verdict for hubby accused in wife-shooting

He said murder came in self-defense



Tim Gautier

Tim Gautier

A jury has found a Thousand Oaks man guilty of murdering his wife after a two-week trial in which the accused took the stand in his own defense.

Tim Gautier, 55, tried to convince jurors that he shot his wife, Gina, to death the morning of Jan. 11, 2021, inside their Westlake Canyon apartment in self-defense after she attacked him with a skillet.

According to police, the shooting happened just before 7 a.m. Deputies arriving at the complex found Gina Gautier, 57, unresponsive and shot multiple times.

Gautier told emergency dispatchers that he shot his wife after she attacked him, Senior Deputy District Attorney Andrew Sullivant told The Acorn earlier this year.

Prosecutors countered with audio evidence taken from a camera located inside the home (but aimed outdoors) that recorded both the day of the murder as well as the week leading up to it. Audible on the recording was a week’s worth of verbal abuse coming from Tim Gautier toward his wife, said Sullivant, adding that the audio files allowed the jury to hear from the victim.

It was that audio that showed inconsistencies in Gautier’s testimony, the prosecutor said.

“If we didn’t have that, it could have been a different outcome,” he said.

The case might have taken much longer to go before a jury, as well.

While murder cases regularly take years before going before a jury, the Gautier verdict comes nine months after the crime.

The ability to go to trial quickly was due to what the D.A.’s office saw as cut-and-dried evidence, Sullivant said. The prosecution didn’t have to spend a lot of time developing the case when the recording told the story.

Another reason for getting to trial so quickly was Gautier’s exercising his right to a speedy trial. Whereas murder suspects often request continuance after continuance, Gautier did not.

His attorney, public defender Michael Albers did not return calls made to his office.

Once given the case for deliberation, the jury worked quickly. Jurors were given the case late Monday afternoon and returned with a verdict of guilty less than 24 hours later.

Sullivant said the verdict was bittersweet. Sentencing is tentatively set for November

“Obviously, we can’t bring the victim back, and her family was in the courtroom and it’s bittersweet,” he said.

“I’m just glad we had that evidence and we were able to get that evidence to the jury so they could make the right decision.”