(USNewsMag.com) – A man from Minnesota was just convicted for stabbing multiple people while they were tubing on a river in Wisconsin, one of whom died.
On Thursday, April 11th, the St. Croix County Circuit Court of Hudson, Wisconsin, convicted 54-year-old Nicolae Miu for the slaying of Isaac Schuman, a 17-year-old high school student from Stillwater, as well as the stabbing of four others on the Apple River during a confrontation. Miu was charged with a single count of battery, four for first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and one count for first-degree reckless homicide. The jury found him guilty on all counts and the verdict was read just after 11 a.m.
Shuman was fatally stabbed in July 2022 when he and the other victims were tubing along the river between the Wisconsin and Minnesota state lines. According to the criminal complaint, Miu was with his wife and a group of others tubing on the river. The confrontation began when the group of teenagers said Miu approached, started bothering them, and was told to leave them alone.
The teenagers felt Miu’s behavior was odd, but he claimed he was nearby looking for a lost cell phone in the water with a snorkel and goggles when the teenagers instigated. As the situation escalated, he lunged at a boy recording, and also punched one of the women, resulting in a fight as the others intervened.
In video footage captured of the incident, Miu can be seen falling into the river. When he emerges from the water, he stabs one boy, and then several other people after, including Schuman. The other victims, who survived, were two men from Luck, Wisconsin; one from Elk River, Minnesota; and a woman from Burnsville (all of them in their 20s).
A.J. Martin, who was the first man stabbed and miraculously survived, showed his massive scar in court on Wednesday, April 3rd. Martin was disemboweled and said in his testimony that his “stomach was open” and his intestines were in his hands.
Miu claims he was provoked and acted in self-defense, but prosecutors argued he had multiple opportunities to disengage from the group of kids, was told to leave, and also grabbed them first. A date for sentencing has yet to be determined.
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