Nearly two decades after Misha Pavelick was fatally stabbed at a graduation party north of Regina, the man police say is responsible has been found guilty in a court of law.

After about two days of deliberation, the 12-member jury reached a verdict on Friday. The accused faced one count of second-degree murder.

For Pavelick’s family, the verdict provides a sense of closure.

“So, it’s been 19 years we’ve been waiting, and nothing will bring Misha back, but it’s nice to be able to put this behind us a little bit and move on,” said Pavelick’s stepmother Karen Mondor.

The man was under 18 at the time of Pavelick’s death and therefore cannot be named due to the protections of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Pavelick, 19, died following a fight at a high school graduation party held at a campground near Last Mountain Lake, on May 21, 2006. His cause of death was found to be a stab wound to the heart.

Pavelick’s father Lorne said his son’s life was just beginning.

“He was a young man who was just finding out who he was. So, his script, his life story is not written, it ended that night. So, all we have are memories.”

“He had a huge smile, a ton of friends, people loved Misha,” Pavelick’s stepmother said.

Over the course of the three-week trial, jury members heard from more than 30 witnesses, which included police officers, a medical examiner, and those who were at the party the night of Pavelick’s death.

Witness testimony described a night that began as a celebration but soon devolved into animosity and physical violence after an uninvited group arrived.

Within that group was Pavelick’s ex-girlfriend, along with her new boyfriend, Andrew Perkins.

The jury heard several accounts that described Pavelick throwing or hitting Perkins with a glass bottle while speaking with his ex-girlfriend. From there, the fighting began, which involved Pavelick, several of his friends and several members of the uninvited group.

Among those involved in the fighting that night was the accused.

None of the witnesses presented at trial testified to actually seeing the accused stab Pavelick.

However, the court also heard from witnesses who described the accused as erratic after leaving the party, with one witness testifying that the accused “seemed excited” about stabbing someone that night.

Pavelick would be declared dead by RCMP officers who responded to the site of the party around 1 a.m.

Lorne told CTV News that Misha was “no angel in that exercise, but I know for a fact that he didn’t go out there to die that night.”

He added that he was glad to be able to speak with Misha one last time before his death on the night of the altercation.

“There was a phone call that was alluded to in the trial. I finally got to hear confirmation that a call had been placed to me as he was dying. And I got to tell him I loved him... and it was going to be okay.”

Justice Catherine Dawson has scheduled the next court appearance for the accused to 2 p.m. on Thursday at Court of King’s Bench.