The mysterious death of an Edmonton-born man in Asia has his family searching for answers.

Sarena Armsworthy told CTV News that her younger brother, Nara Pech, 28, intended to fly home to Toronto from Laos after a vacation, but instead died of multiple stab wounds in an airport cafeteria.

Armsworthy said she and all of her family members believe he was murdered in an airport in Laos. “In Asia we’ve heard that they’ve been trying to slander his name, saying that he tried to do it to himself, that he committed suicide,” she told CTV News.

According to Pech’s concerned sister, her brother was dropped off by friends at the Vientiane airport in Laos on January 21, 2015. The friends watched as he cleared customs, but what happened beyond that point is a mystery.

“First they told the Canadian embassy in Thailand that my brother was detained - and then their story changed…that he got upset and tried to stab himself somehow with broken glass. So I don’t know where this broken glass came from. I guess now, he was never actually detained… they told us that, an article came out and said he tried to stab himself with knives. But if he had gone through security clearance I don’t know how there would be knives,” Armsworthy questioned.

A report by Laotian authorities, supplied to CTV News by Armsworthy, said four knives were found near the body. The autopsy, performed there, lists multiple stab wounds – including the chest, stomach and neck.

Pech’s sister said she and all of her family members believe he was murdered at the airport.

Armsworthy pointed to a series of voice mails Nara left family members…

“Dad, please, I’m in Laos and they’re trying to hurt me. I need help, Dad. Call the embassy please” Pech can be heard saying in one left for his father.

“I’m in the Laos airport in Vientiane. Apparently, I said something bad about Hun Sen (Prime Minister of Cambodia) and they’re trying to kill me, basically. I’m stuck here. They want me to leave the airport. They don’t want anyone to know that I’m here. They dropped the (unclear). Everything. I need you to call the Canadian Embassy. Tell them I’m in Vientiane, Laos. Tell them that the guards…the drivers, taxi drivers…everybody involved in it. The security guards. Everybody. They’re trying to (expletive) kill me. I need your help,” the man said in another voicemail.

Armsworthy has contacted officials in Canada, but she said it’s been frustrating. “I’ve been trying to be patient…the embassy in Thailand seems to be the middle man, but they haven’t given me any straight answers,” she said.

“The rep has told me because it’s not within our jurisdiction, because it’s a sovereign state, we aren’t allowed to be involved in any part of the investigation,” Armsworthy explained. 

“In an international airport there should be surveillance - that surveillance should have been shown immediately to the embassy if they had requested it,” she added.

In a statement to CTV News, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs said “consular officials continue to provide assistance to the family and liaise with local authorities.”

For now, Armsworthy’s biggest fear is never getting any answers. “Every day I think about what possibly happened with that incident, seeing the knives, thinking there were people surrounding him. That’s the only thought that ever goes through my head now.”

Armsworthy said she doesn’t understand why her brother was targeted – all he was trying to do was come home. “My brother loved his life. All he ever wanted to do was travel. He wanted to make a difference. He wanted to help people.”

With files from Dan Grummett