Boyfriend of Misha Pavelick's ex-girlfriend gives his account of night Pavelick died

The jury at the murder trial for the man accused of killing Misha Pavelick has now heard from the man who was involved in an initial confrontation with Pavelick. 

Andrew Perkins, who was dating Pavelick's ex-girlfriend at the time, has been named in almost every account the jury has heard of the fatal 2006 stabbing of Pavelick. 

On Thursday, Perkins testified at the second-degree murder trial for the 36-year-old accused, who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act because he was 17 at the time.

Perkins was 20 on May 21, 2006, the night Pavelick was stabbed at a grad party at the Kinookimaw campground near Regina Beach, about 45 kilometres northwest of Regina.

The courtroom — which has had about a dozen people in the gallery most days of the trial — was filled Thursday as Perkins testified.

Like many witnesses, Perkins described a night where innocent drinking turned into violence, which he confirmed started with a confrontation between him and Pavelick. 

Perkins told Crown prosecutor Adam Breker he had heard that Pavelick didn’t like him prior to the party, and there was a moment when they locked eyes near the bonfire that night. 

“I remember asking Scott [Nelson] to watch my back,” he said. 

Nelson, who testified last week, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2007 for stabbing Derek Enns, another partygoer at the campground that night. 

Perkins said he tried to leave with his girlfriend, who cannot be identified because she was under 18 at the time, when he was approached by Pavelick, who smashed a beer bottle over his head and knocked him unconscious.

Perkins said he didn't know how long he was unconscious. When he came to, he got up, feeling dazed. He said he walked over to Pavelick and started "kicking him and punching him." Perkins said several of his friends, including the accused, joined in.

Perkins said he left the fight at one point to look for his hat and when he walked back toward the fire, a friend told him Pavelick had been stabbed and they needed to leave.

Breker asked Perkins if he had seen any weapons or injuries on those who gathered at Regina Beach after leaving the campground that night. 

Perkins said he did not see anybody with weapons, but knew Nelson had a knife.