A Wisconsin jury found 54-year-old Nicolae Miu guilty Thursday of multiple criminal charges in connection to the 2022 Apple River stabbings, CBS News reported.
A jury of six men and six women found Miu guilty of one count of first-degree reckless homicide, four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, as well as one count of battery, according to CBS. While Miu’s defense attorney Aaron Nelson argued that the 54-year-old was acting in self-defense, prosecutors claimed that Miu was the aggressor against the victims, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Ring Camera Caught Pre-Med Student With Knife Before Allegedly Stabbing Mother To Death For Getting On His Nerves)
“We felt like we had a good case, we felt like we had a good defense,” Nelson reportedly 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.”
Miu got into an altercation with a group of males while in the river on July 30, 2022, stabbing five and killing 17-year-old Isaac Schuman, according to CBS News. In addition to stabbing Alexander Martin, Dante Carlson, Anthony Carlson and Rhyley Mattison, Miu’s conviction of battery was against Madison Coen, who was a part of Schuman’s group.
A video of the altercation circulated on Twitter showing Schuman’s group and Miu arguing before the incident spiraled.
Nicolae Miu was looking for his phone when he ran into a group of young people who proceeded to harass and assault him, pushing him to the ground and punching him.
He pulled a pocketknife he used for cutting rope while tubing and cut five of them, one of whom didn’t survive.… pic.twitter.com/BqM3yoMqoD
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 8, 2024
Miu and a group of people were out inner-tubing on the day of the incident, according to the StarTribune. As jurors reviewed the video, which was taken by a member of Schuman’s group, Miu and Coen could be seen arguing. Coen claimed that she had told the 54-year-old to leave after Schuman’s group accused him of “looking for little girls,” the outlet reported. However, Miu claimed that he was looking for a group member’s cell phone, who claimed to have lost it while tubing.
Miu alleged that he pushed Coen because she was yelling and entered his personal space, but witnesses said Miu pushed the woman first, which started the fight between Schuman’s group and Miu.
As the altercation could be seen escalating, Miu claimed during his trial that his “fear was getting really high,” as he was pushed into the water several times, the StarTribune reported. Miu then could be seen pulling out a knife from his pocket, used for cutting ropes, before using the weapon.
Prosecutor Karl Anderson argued that the behavior from the 54-year-old was inconsistent, calling him a “prolific liar,” according to the StarTribune.
“A key point in this case was Nicolae’s own actions,” Anderson stated, according to the outlet. “After he stabbed all these people, he walked away, he ditched his knife, he didn’t tell his group anything and then he tried to get away and pretended like he wasn’t involved.”
While Miu’s sentencing has not been scheduled, Anderson stated that he could be facing up to 97 years in prison, according to CBS News.