Misha Pavelick, of Regina, was fatally stabbed at an outdoor party near Regina Beach on May 21, 2006 and on Friday it will be 15 years since his death.
Just 19 years old at the time, Misha’s family says it’s a wound that will never fully heal.
“I was in a deep sleep and woke up to a phone call. (Misha’s friend) said, ‘Prepare yourself for some bad news: Misha is in trouble,’” said Lorne Pavelick, Misha’s father.
“I thought, well, what does that mean? She said, ‘He’s been stabbed.’ It just got worse from there. That disrupted everything.”
Disruption doesn’t begin to describe what the family has gone through and continues to deal with every day.
“It’s been very hard because there are life experiences that I wish he was here for, whether they be joyous or traumatic, there are things that I wish that I could share with him,” said Kathleen Marshall, Misha’s sister.
“I can’t share him with my daughter. I have to tell her about him one day and it’s just not going to feel the same.”
Fifteen years later, and Saskatchewan RCMP have yet to make an arrest in the case. On Friday, RCMP are launching a three-episode podcast called Who Killed Misha Pavelick? – the first-ever podcast created by RCMP.
The podcast features the voices of officers directly involved in the investigation, Misha’s loved ones and other RCMP experts.
“As the investigation progresses and time goes by, people have a tendency to forget about what happened and about Misha himself,” said Sgt. Donna Zawislak, member of the Saskatchewan RCMP historical case unit.
“It’s easy for them to distance themselves and when that happens, when we go to talk to people, they don’t want to talk about it because they’ve moved on. They don’t realize the effect it’s had on the family and how that continues every day.”
She said she hopes the podcast will lead to somebody speaking up.
“We want the facts to get out there. Maybe, when people hear the facts, they will realize that they’re the one who has that little piece of the puzzle and they’ll come forward,” Zawislak said.
Lorne chose not to use the word closure because the feelings he has will never go away, but said catching the person(s) responsible for his son’s death would mean a lot and believes someone knows who killed him.
“There’s a part of your life that is missing and nothing you can do or say or think is going to change that unless you are in full-blown denial and pretend everything is going to be fine,” Lorne said.
“There are people that know precisely who did this. I’m certain about that.”
Catching the killer(s) and finding out what happened that night is something Marshall said would relieve a lot of her stress and the people around her.
“It’s been a long time and somebody should be held accountable for such a tragic loss,” Marshall said. “It has a lot of impact with not only family but the community. I think it would give us a peace of mind.”
Lorne said he remembers feeling uneasy when Misha told him he was going to the party that night and the last conversation they ever had.
“I told him I loved him and he said, ‘I love you too, Dad.’ I said are, ‘You going to be all right?’ Misha said, ‘Of course,’” Lorne said. “He didn’t go out there to die.”
Both Misha’s father and sister described him as funny, energetic and someone who loved kids.
All three episodes of Who Killed Misha Pavelick? are going to be released on the Saskatchewan RCMP website and will also be available on both Apple and Google podcasts.
Anyone with information regarding Pavelick’s death is asked to contact police at 639-625-4252 or 1-800-222-8477.
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