'I haven't cried yet': Family of Regina man shocked, devastated after weekend homicide
CBC News | Posted: August 17, 2017 3:49 PM | Last Updated: August 17, 2017
'To think that somebody could just take his life so easily, it's heartbreaking,' says stepdaughter
Macheala Tokar wants her stepfather Blaine Katz to be remembered as a family man, a good and caring person with a family who loves him, rather than as a murder victim.
Tokar said Katz had a big influence on her life after her mother died when she was six years old.
"To think that somebody could just take his life so easily, it's heartbreaking," Tokar said.
Katz, 39, died over the weekend on the 2100 block of Cornwall Street. Regina police were called to the area for reports of a seriously injured man. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two men, Gerald Earl McDormand, 44, and Steven Paul St. Pierre, 39, have been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Katz's death.
Tokar said she was notified of Katz's death by police and that she was the one to break the news to her family. It left her feeling shocked and in disbelief.
"I haven't cried yet. I'm being strong for my family right now," she said. "They're all completely devastated."
Tokar described Katz as someone who, despite still being a responsible adult, had a childlike joy to him.
"He was the best," Tokar said, lighting up as she remembered him.
"He let us do all the fun things that kids want to do with their parents. He was a really great, great man."
Katz's funeral is taking place Saturday afternoon.
Tokar said she hopes there will be some closure when the family is able to see the men charged when they appear in court.