The man found guilty of Misha Pavelick’s murder in Saskatchewan has requested his conviction be appealed. The now 37-year-old man was handed the maximum seven-year youth sentence for second-degree murder by Justice Catherine Dawson on June 16. Because he was 17 at the time of Pavelick’s death, his identity remains protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Pavelick was 19-years-old when he was fatally stabbed at a graduation party at the Kinookimaw Campground near Regina Beach on May 21, 2006. The notice of appeal, prepared by defence lawyer Andrew Hitchcock, states the trial judge erred in presenting evidence from the defence in a fair and balanced manner that favoured the Crown. The other parts of the appeal state Justice Dawson did not properly instruct the jury regarding the evidence presented by two witnesses in the trial: Josh Senkow and Scott Nelson. In the appeal documents, it states the judge commented on the defence counsel’s closing remarks that was “unfairly prejudicial to the defence,” telling the jury a phrase used by the defence was not appropriate. Following the man’s trial, the grounds of appeal also mentions the judge did not provide counsel sufficient time for review and sentencing submissions before the jury charge was delivered — stating her instructions were inadequate based on circumstantial evidence. The man was convicted on Nov. 14, 2025. His seven-year sentence was set to begin as of June 16. He is currently serving his sentence at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary. If the appeal is granted, the man will be tried by a single judge as opposed to a judge and jury, according to documents from the Court of Appeal. A panel of appeal judges will hear written submissions from both the Crown and defence once a date is set in Court of King’s Bench.
