Sask. RCMP announce 2nd-degree murder charge in 2006 death of Misha Pavelick

Saskatchewan RCMP have arrested a 34-year-old man, charging him with second-degree murder in relation to the death of Misha Pavelick in 2006.

Pavelick, 19, was fatally stabbed on May 21, 2006, when a fight broke out at a long weekend high school camping party near Regina Beach, about 45 kilometres northwest of Regina. His death was considered a homicide and police have been investigating it since.

Sgt. Major Darryl Milo, the officer in charge of the Saskatchewan RCMP's historical case unit, announced the arrest in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect was arrested without incident in Regina on June 24, Milo said. He did not come forward on his own.

The accused was 17 at the time of Pavelick's death, so RCMP are unable to release his name or provide any other details that may identify him.

The man is scheduled to make a court appearance at Regina Provincial Youth Court on July 17. His first appearance was on Monday, Milo said.

"Bringing some sense of closure to Misha's family and holding an individual responsible was at the core of the motivation behind each investigator assigned to this case," Milo said.

"Six-thousand, two-hundred and forty-six sounds like a large number, but it is the number of days between Misha's death and today," Lorne Pavelick, Misha's father, said at the news conference.

Lorne thanked the RCMP on the behalf of the family for offering respect, constant communication, commitment and a sense of hope.

"As a family, we realize this is not the end, just the beginning of an end," he said.

In 2021, the police confirmed that investigators were conducting an "evidence search" after receiving multiple tips. The new information appeared to have been in response to a podcast about Pavelick's death that was released by the RCMP earlier that month. Who Killed Misha Pavelick? featured interviews with Pavelick's family members, as well as investigators involved in the investigation and other experts.

Milo said 15 people contacted RCMP with anonymous tips within the first two weeks of the podcast airing.

He said officers have conducted more than 200 witness interviews for the case in total.

Milo said the historical case unit was assisted by investigators from multiple RCMP detachments in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The investigation is ongoing.