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A jury has issued a guilty verdict in the trial of a man accused of killing Misha Pavelick during a Miller High School graduation party at a camp nearly two decades ago.
Pavelick, 19, was fatally stabbed at Camp Kinookimaw near Regina Beach, about 45 kilometers northwest of Regina, on May 21, 2006.
Family members gasped, cried and began hugging each other as the 12-person jury delivered the verdict in the Regina King’s Bench courtroom on Friday. The jury began its deliberations on Wednesday.
The jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, but could also have convicted him of the lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter. His identity is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act because he was 17 at the time of the murder.
After the verdict was read, the defendant could be seen sitting with both arms in his lap and looking toward the ground. His family sat just inches away as they wiped tears from their eyes.
The defense stood next to the accused as he also wiped away tears.
The jury began deliberating Wednesday after Judge Catherine Dawson read a 200-page summary of the evidence and a set of instructions. Dawson dismissed the jurors Friday, many of them also with tears in their eyes.
During closing arguments earlier this week, defense attorney Andrew Hitchcock said the case against his client had been tainted by “years of gossip and comparing notes” between witnesses.
He told jurors to consider all the scenarios that could have happened the night Pavelick died.
