Regina, Saskatchewan — Misha Pavelick was 19-years-old when he was stabbed to death at a graduation party near Regina Beach on May 21, 2006. 200 people were reportedly at the party, but those responsible for his death were never found.
Saskatchewan RCMP launched a podcast examining the murder, in hopes of digging up new information about this 18-year-old cold case.
Misha's father, Lorne Pavelick, still remembers the last conversation he had with his son before Misha went to the grad party that evening.
"I asked him if he would be safe and he said 'yes' and 'not to worry," Pavelick said. "I told him 'I love you' and he said 'I love you too, Dad.' So I am grateful that I had that opportunity, that I was given that gift to remember."
Later that night while he was sleeping, Pavelick received a frantic phone call from one of Misha's friends who told him his son had been stabbed and it didn't look good.
Misha's older sister, Kathleen Marshall, remembers getting the call from their dad saying things were not looking good for her brother. The family and several of Misha's friends arrived at the Regina General Hospital. Hospital employees took the family to a separate room where they delivered the news that Misha didn not make it.
Pavelick said the family was told it would be a complicated investigation because of the circumstances that surrounded it.
"I don't know what my expectations were, but our hopes absolutely were for someone to be held accountable," Kathleen said. "There were so many people there so there's definitely people that saw what happened and know what happened first hand."
15 years after the murder, Pavelick said the family was excited when Saskatchewan RCMP approached them to do the podcast.
"I must say that I am grateful to the RCMP, which may sound weird, but I am grateful that they have assigned some importance - like they do for most of their cases - but in this case for Misha and they created this podcast," Pavelick said. "As a family we are hopeful that there will be some results."
The podcast includes interviews with Pavelick's family, RCMP officers involved in the case and other police experts. Those involved hope the podcast will encourage someone to bring forward information that could help police solve the case.
Producing a podcast to assist with an investigation is a first for the RCMP. Sgt. Donna Zawislak with the RCMP Historical Case Unit said podcasts have proven to be a positive way to share historical cases.
"They are great because they can be shared so many times, plus they leave an imprint on the internet for a long period of time," she said.
The first episode was released on Friday morning on the Saskatchewan RCMP website and Apple Podcasts.
