Nicolae Miu is a killer from Wisconsin who was convicted of the murder of Isaac Schuman
According to court documents Nicolae Miu was at the Apple River in Wisconsin when he was being taunted by a group of teens who were tubing. Apparently the teens were calling Miu a pedophile
However the teens could not predict that Nicolae Miu would pull out a knife and fatally stab Isaac Schuman as well as stabbing four other teens, three boys and one girl
Nicolae Miu would tell police shortly after his arrest that he feared for his life and was acting in self defense
However when the trial went in front of the jury it was determined that Miu did not react out of fear for his life and would be convicted of all charges against him including the murder of Isaac Schuman.
Nicolae Miu will be sentenced at a later date where he faces over ninety years in prison
Nicolae Miu Case
Jurors have found Nicolae Miu guilty of multiple criminal charges, including homicide, in the 2022 Apple River stabbings in Wisconsin.
The jury found Miu guilty of one count of first-degree reckless homicide, four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of battery. The verdict was read in court on Thursday.
Miu was originally charged with intentional crimes, but was convicted on lesser, but still serious, reckless charges. Miu’s defense attorney Aaron Nelson said Miu faces “substantial, life-changing penalties.”
“We felt like we had a good case, we felt like we had a good defense,” Nelson said. “But in many ways self-defense is a community standard and it’s very dependent on which 12 people within the community that you ask.”
Prosecutor Karl Anderson said although Miu was convicted of downgraded charges, the jury still did its duty
“They couldn’t agree on intentional, they agreed unanimously that it was reckless, that he showed utter disregard for human life,” Anderson said.
Donny Hernandez — father of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman, who died in the attack — spoke to the press following the verdict.
“It’s been 21 months we’ve been waiting for justice for Isaac Michael Schuman, and we got it today,” Hernandez said.
The trial lasted eight days, with more than three dozen witnesses taking the stand. The jury began deliberations after closing arguments Wednesday and reached a verdict Thursday morning.
Miu, 54, stabbed five people on the river on July 30, 2022, killing Schuman and injuring four others. The victims ranged in age from 17 to 24 and were from Wisconsin and Minnesota.
During the trial, the prosecution sought to prove Miu was the aggressor, while Miu’s attorneys argued he acted in self-defense.
Jurors heard testimony from Schuman’s mother, other stabbing victims, witnesses, law enforcement and Miu himself. They saw cellphone video of the confrontation, body camera footage of the law enforcement response and a recording of Miu’s initial interview with authorities.
Miu’s sentencing date has not been scheduled. Anderson said Miu could face up to 97 years in prison
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/nicolae-miu-apple-river-stabbing-trial-verdict
Nicolae Miu News
A Wisconsin jury has found Nicolae Miu guilty on all counts involving the stabbing of five people, killing Stillwater teen Isaac Schuman on the Apple River in 2022.
Judge R. Michael Waterman read off the verdicts in open court shortly after 11 a.m. Jurors found Miu guilty on one count of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Isaac Schuman. They determined he was also guilty on four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety while using a weapon in the stabbings of A.J. Martin, Dante Carlson, Tony Carlson and Ryhley Mattison.
All of those criminal counts were reduced in severity by the jury, which was given the latitude by Judge Waterman to do so.
Miu was also found guilty of battery for punching Madison Coen in the face during their encounter on the river.
Wisconsin statute calls for a recommended sentence of up to 60 years for first-degree reckless homicide. At this point a sentencing date has not been set. St. Croix County District Attorney Karl Anderson says the first-degree reckless endangerment charges each carry a sentence of 7.5 years behind bars plus another five of supervision.
At this time a sentencing date has not been set.
Anderson said he and the prosecution team were “relieved” at the verdict.
“I’m relieved for Isaac’s family, the other victims,” Anderson reflected. “As anyone can see in this case, it’s absolutely tragic at so many levels.”
Anderson said the video was important in gaining the convictions, but as crucial was what Miu did – washing and discarding the knife on the riverbank, walking (and not running) back to his group, and not saying a word to them about what just happened. The DA says Miu’s lie about the boys pulling knives on him show he understood the consequences of his actions and knew they weren’t committed in self-defense.
“He wasn’t afraid, he was angry,” Anderson said.
Defense attorney Aaron Nelson spoke with reporters outside the courthouse following the verdict, saying Miu and his attorneys were surprised at the jury’s decision.
“Respectfully disappointed,” Nelson said. “I understand it’s a huge task the jury just undertook, we obviously disagree with deep sadness.
When asked about Miu’s reaction, his attorney was succinct. “He’s sad, obviously disappointed in the result and contemplating his future life.”
Isaac’s father made a statement for his family, clearly bearing the weight of loss and what they’ve been through in the almost two years that have passed since the teen’s death. He thanked supporters, prosecutors, law enforcement and complete strangers who have stood behind the family through this ordeal.
“It’s been 21 months we’ve been waiting for justice for Isaac Michael Schuman,” Donald Hernandez told reporters, his voice cracking, “and we got it today. So I just want to tell everybody I appreciate all your love and support.”
KARE 11’s Lou Raguse was at the St. Croix County Courthouse for the verdict. He says jurors left following the reading of the verdicts but were not interested in discussing how they reached a decision.
Nicolae Miu was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Schuman, and four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly stabbing four others who survived. The jury had the option to convict Miu of lesser charges as well, if they didn’t think his actions fit the legal definition of intentional homicide.
Jurors received the case on the eighth day of the trial, after hearing testimony from a variety of witnesses including stabbing victims, law enforcement at the scene that day and finally, Miu himself. Throughout the trial the strategies of both the prosecution and defense were clear: Prosecutors told jurors that Miu himself was the instigator in the violence, and had multiple opportunities to remove himself from the situation while Miu’s defense team says it is a classic case of self-defense. While on the stand, Nicolae Miu told jurors he was terrified, and thought he was going to die on that day.
Miu told the jury he was looking for a friend’s lost phone in the river and ran into a group of teens who were tubing. In a video captured by one of the teens, he ran up and grabbed their tubes to stop them.
The teenagers started yelling, accusing Miu of “looking for little girls,” and the conflict quickly escalated. A third group became involved in the escalating altercation. Madison Coen and Ryhley Mattison stood close to Miu in the video, and Miu said he “pushed [Coen] away from my face.”
Others who were there say Miu actually punched Coen in the face. Several witnesses testified to seeing this interaction or hearing shouts of “he hit a girl,” and then additional people gathered around the group, including stabbing victims Tony and Dante Carlson.
Immediately afterward the initial conflict, the defense says the groups of teens converged, pushing Miu backward into the water and taunting him with names such as “raper” and “pedophile.” Once Miu stood up from the water, he took out his knife as seen in the video, though several witnesses said they didn’t realize he had a weapon until after he started swinging.
Prosecutor Brian Smestad pressed the defendant while he was on the stand, detailing how after being pushed back down into the river, Miu put the blade of his knife in A.J. Martin’s belly and ripped upwards. The prosecution said after stabbing Martin, nobody was physically engaged with Miu, no one was hitting or kicking him, and yet he still lunged and stabbed Tony Carlson twice as he stepped in to help his injured friends.
“At that point, I couldn’t tell what was going on,” the defendant said. “I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear… I was fearing for my life. I had merely seconds to think.”
Smestad told jurors that Miu stabbed Ryhley Mattison, and then Isaac Schuman as he tried to come to the woman’s aid. Video showed Schuman trying to push Miu away, and then the defendant inflicting the fatal wound.
The state called a nurse who attempted to resuscitate Schuman on the river bank as he was dying. The remaining four victims were transported to the hospital. Miu walked further down the river before he was quickly picked up by the St. Croix County Sheriff.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/miu-trial-verdict/89-ff56cbaa-1a1d-4b26-a64e-489dcb73fbac
Nicolae Miu Sentencing
Nicolae Miu, who was convicted of stabbing five people, one fatally, during a 2022 tubing excursion along the Apple River in Wisconsin, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday.
Miu, 54, was found guilty in April of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman. He was also convicted of battery and recklessly endangering safety with an aggravated factor of the use of a dangerous weapon in connection with the wounded victims: A.J. Martin, Dante Carlson, Tony Carlson and Rhyley Mattison.
“(Miu) left the scene, leaving his victims to die while casually floating past them and emergency workers as if nothing had happened,” St. Croix County District Judge R. Michael Waterman said while handing down the sentence, which came just after the two-year anniversary of the attack.
In addition to the 20-year prison sentence, Miu was sentenced to six years of extended supervision. He was given 732 days credit for time served. His defense attorney, Aaron Nelson, said Miu will be about 72 years old when he is eligible for release.
Authorities said Miu was tubing on the river with his wife and friends near Somerset, Wisconsin, on July 30, 2022, when they were separated as he was searching for a lost cell phone. He came upon the victims while looking for the phone, “as he believed they’d located something.”
In the subsequent altercation, Miu stabbed the five victims and punched a woman in the face.
Miu told investigators he felt threatened and “fearful” when confronted by the victims, who he said taunted him, according to a 2022 criminal complaint. He said he stabbed them in self-defense after they threw his snorkeling gear in the water, attempted to pull down his bathing suit and called him a “child molester,” the complaint said.
Witnesses described seeing Miu brandish a “three-inch silver” knife when two females confronted him before a physical altercation broke out, the complaint stated.
One victim told investigators she was punched by Miu in the face, which gave way to a physical struggle as a male punched Miu and the group then pushed Miu, who fell into the water. Miu said he couldn’t remember anything after people hit him and got on top of him until he ran back to his wife, according to the complaint.
The complaint noted Miu said he did not immediately tell his wife and friends what had occurred as he thought the group of kids were “too drunk” and “too set on going after people,” and Mui didn’t want the two groups to confront one another.
Miu was arrested an hour-and-a-half after the incident.
“The court’s sentence must reflect the reality that it was reckless conduct that the jury found him guilty of, not intentional conduct, which is punishable much more harshly,” the judge said Wednesday.
Miu was originally charged with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree intentional attempted homicide.
St. Croix County District Attorney Karl Anderson had told Waterman he shouldn’t believe Miu is a fundamentally passive person, despite his lack of previous criminal history. “A peaceful person doesn’t take out a knife when they could have just walked away,” said Anderson.
Nelson, the defense attorney, had argued Miu should be seen as a decent person who made a terrible mistake, saying: “Mr. Miu was – is – a good man.”
Miu remained stoic for most of the hearing, looking down throughout. He looked up only to read a statement to the victims’ families.
“I never meant for this tragedy to occur. My soul is broken,” said Miu. “My heart is very heavy, and I will never be the same carrying such a heavy burden inside.”
Miu turned to the families and cried as he said, “I’m very sorry.”
Isaac’s father, Scott Schuman, said after the hearing he was happy Miu apologized. “I still need to process that,” he said. “But I didn’t expect it, and I was happy that he did that.”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/31/us/nicolae-miu-sentencing-wisconsin-river-stabbing/index.html
