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The jury presented guilty verdict in the case of a man accused of killing Misha Pavelik during a Miller High School graduation party at a campground nearly two decades ago.
Pavelick, 19, was fatally shot at the Kinukimau campground near Regina Beach, about 45 kilometers northwest of Regina, on May 21, 2006. In 2023, the defendant was charged with second-degree murder.
Family members gasped, cried and began hugging as the 12-member jury returned its verdict in Regina King's courtroom Friday. The jury began deliberations Wednesday.
The jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, but could also have found him guilty of a lesser crime such as manslaughter.
The 38-year-old's identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act because he was 17 years old at the time of the murder. He remains in custody awaiting sentencing, scheduled for November 20.
Misha Pavelich's father, Lorne Pavelich, spoke to media outside the courthouse Friday with his wife, Karen Monder. He said their son's family and friends are relieved and grateful for the outcome of the month-long trial.
“I'm not saying my son was an angel during this whole exercise. I mean they were all little kids, but I do know that he went there not to die that night,” he said.
He thanked Crown prosecutor Adam Brecker, the jury and the RCMP, who he said never gave up on pursuing the case.
He also thanked his son's friends who were with him at the campground the night he died.
“Many of these young men and women were traumatized, some of them are still feeling the effects, including those who created part of the problem that happened that night,” Lorne Pavelich said.
Thanks to these friends, he said, he was able to talk to his son one last time. The court heard his son's ex-girlfriend called him that evening to say the teenager had been injured.
“I have to tell him that I love him, [that] “everything will be fine,” he recalled, holding back tears.
A 12-member jury found the man accused of killing Misha Pavelik guilty of second-degree murder Friday. Pavelik, 19, was stabbed during a graduation party at a campground near Regina Beach in 2006.
The family wants Misha to be remembered for more than just how he died.
“He had a huge smile, tons of friends, and people loved Misha,” his mother said.
“He was a nice boy and a nice young man and I will always think of him with that big smile on his face.”
Asked about his hopes for the sentencing, Lorne Pavelich said he wanted to leave the matter up to the judge.
“This is another family that is in turmoil … and they need to show a little kindness in this time of grief,” he said.
“We have been grieving for 19 years and this hole has never been filled.”
After the verdict was announced, the accused could be seen sitting with both hands on his knees and looking at the floor. His family sat just inches away from him, wiping their eyes. His lawyer Andrew Hitchcock stood next to him and did the same.
When Judge Catherine Dawson released the jurors on Friday, many of them also had tears in their eyes.
During closing arguments earlier this week, Hitchcock said the case against his client was tainted by “years of gossip and comparing notes” between witnesses.
He advised jurors to consider all scenarios that could have happened the night Pavelik died.
Crown and defense lawyers did not speak to the media Friday.
The Crown has indicated it will seek an adult sentence.
