Extended family members of a missing 11-year-old Burnaby boy now believed to be a murder victim say they are devastated by the discovery of his remains. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team made the tragic announcement about Kai Pavlovic at a news conference on Monday. The boy’s aunt, Helen Kok, who lives in Christchurch, provided a statement on behalf of the family to Radio New Zealand, saying the family would “forever have a Kai-shaped hole in our hearts.” She said she is grateful to those who worked to find answers and asked for privacy for her family to grieve. “This is news our family never wanted to receive. Kai was the light of our lives. We will miss the joy, creativity, and sense of adventure he brought with him wherever he went—and that is how we will remember him,” Kok said in the statement. At Monday’s news conference, IHIT spokesperson Sgt. Freda Fong said 46-year-old Sarah Bijelic was charged with manslaughter and 51-year-old Branko Bijelic faces charges of second-degree murder and indignity to human remains. A publication ban prevents reporting on what transpired during a Monday court appearance by Sarah Bijelic. In September of last year, extended family contacted the RCMP with concerns about Pavlovic’s well-being. When he could not be located during a wellness check, Burnaby Mounties opened a high-risk missing person file. When news of Pavlovic’s disappearance was made public, a Vancouver-based organization called The Vanished Project began sharing details about the case. “We were contacted by family in Montenegro and told in a way...that he may no longer be here,” The Vanished Project spokesperson Cassandra Kensall told CTV News, alluding to the possibility the boy was already deceased when news of his disappearance broke. That lines up with information about the timeline shared by IHIT. “What I can confirm is that the allegations of the offenses took place last year, dating before the missing reports came in to the police,” Fong said. Fong shared that both accused are related to the victim but would not say how. Sarah Bijelic is originally from New Zealand but lived in Montenegro for many years before moving to B.C. in 2023. According to reporting from Radio New Zealand, Pavlovic moved to the Vancouver area with his mother and stepfather in 2023. The discovery of his remains is not the outcome anybody who tried to help with the search was hoping for. “I just wish people wouldn’t fall through the cracks. I wish he would have been found,” said Kensall. “I wish he would have never gone missing.” Branko Bijelic has a court appearance scheduled for Thursday in Vancouver.
