Slain Winnipeg restaurant owner Kyriakos Vogiatzakis remembered 1 year after his death
'I don't want my brother's life to go to waste for no reason,' Mike Vogiatzakis says
Family, friends and supporters gathered outside a Winnipeg restaurant Friday evening, paying tribute to its former owner who was tragically killed one year ago.
"Today is a devastating day. It's like somebody just put a knife in my heart and they're trying to pull it out. It's bleeding and it hurts, and it brings back a memory of my brother dying in this very parking lot a year ago," Mike Vogiatzakis said.
Kyriakos Vogiatzakis died following a confrontation outside the Cork & Flame on Portage Avenue on Jan. 24 of last year, but those closest to him are still fighting back against "a failing justice system," which they say let him and his family down.
"If we don't make a difference now then [the next generation doesn't] have a future," Mike said. "Together if we unite and stand loud and tall with our voices heard, the government's going to have no choice but to get on top of this."
Kyriakos, a beloved member of the St. James and Greek communities of Winnipeg, was pushed to the ground and assaulted until unconscious, police previously said. Curtis Ross Dalebozik, 38, was charged with manslaughter and uttering threats.
Dalebozik was known to loiter around the restaurant, although it's not known how many times he and Kyriakos, 51, might have interacted prior to that fatal day, according to police.
The accused also has a long criminal record but was repeatedly freed on bail, which Mike calls a "catch-and-release system."
"My brother wasn't involved in organized crime, or a drug dealer or any of that kind of stuff," Mike said. "He was a guy that was coming to work to make a living ...and died, brutally murdered by the catch-and-release system."
He knows he can't bring his youngest brother back, but he is pushing to ensure that criminals aren't routinely returned to society without paying for the crimes they commit.
"I'm standing up to do this for my brother's memory because I don't want my brother's life to go to waste for no reason. He fought hard for this community," Mike said.
"He loved people, he fed people, he took care of people, he wasn't an angry man, he was a loving man, and I want that legacy to live on."
The family issued a plea last February for an inquiry into Kyriakos's death.
Mike said the Vogiatzakis family has not received a call back from any government or emergency services officials regarding a possible inquiry.
"An inquiry should take place. A lot of things went wrong right here in this parking lot in the city," he said. "The justice system let us down that day."
The family still has yet to receive an autopsy report on Kyriakos's death.
"That's devastating to my mom to have to struggle in her heart with how her son died and not be able to deal with legal issues of his life because there's no autopsy report," Mike said.
'Nothing's the same'
Mavis Friesen knew Kyriakos and the Vogiatzakis family for more than three decades before his death.
She said it's been hard wrapping her mind around what happened to him.
"It's changed everything. Nothing's the same anymore. Even a year later it's like it was yesterday," Friesen said.
She believes rising crime rates in the city are to blame for increased anxiety among Winnipeggers.
"There's a huge systemic plague beyond just the justice system," Friesen said.
But despite Kyriakos's death, she takes solace in the memories made with her lost friend, who previously operated the MS River Rouge, offering sightseeing cruise on the Red River.
"On the River Rouge, there were always good times, and when he got the restaurant here, he was just so happy," Friesen said.
"He tried to be friendly to people so much."
The pain of losing his brother remains fresh for Mike, but he tries to remember the moments they shared and the memories they created together.
A saying their father used to have when the Vogiatzakis boys were young never made sense to Mike until now, and he holds onto it dearly.
"There's four boys in our family. My dad said, 'Each one of these fingers represent one of you boys.' And he goes, 'It doesn't matter which one I lose, it's gonna hurt just the same and that's how we feel now," Mike said. "We lost one of our fingers, a main key of our family.
"He left us young, but he did live a great life and he made a lot of change and he helped a lot of people. For that, we've got to love him and keep him in our hearts and continue to live on his legacy."
WATCH | Memorial for Kyriakos Vogiatzakis: