Inset: Isaac Schuman. Background: Nicolae Miu (Law&Crime)
What was supposed to be a fun summer afternoon of tubing on a Wisconsin river turned tragic when a man stabbed five people, killing a 17-year-old boy.
A judge on Wednesday sentenced the man responsible for the stabbings, 54-year-old Nicolae Miu, to 20 years in prison after a jury in April found him guilty of reckless homicide in the death of Isaac Schuman, four counts of reckless endangering safety for stabbing four other people who survived and one count of battery for punching a woman in the face.
The incident unfolded in July 2022 on the Apple River in St. Croix, a popular summer tubing destination. Miu was with one group and Schuman, set to enter his senior year of high school, was with another. At some point, Miu began arguing with the group and he got heated. Multiple people pleaded for Miu to leave and go about his fun day, but he chose not to, Karl Anderson, the St. Croix County District Attorney, said at the sentencing.
“Part of what makes this so tragic and so horrific is how easily Nicolae Miu could have avoided all of this,” Anderson said. “After he was insulted he could have just let the boys float away. Instead he charged up onto them. When the boys were yelling at him to leave, he doesn’t. When the other group comes to intervene, to yell at him to tell him to leave, he doesn’t.”
Miu punched a “barely 100-pound girl” in the face, setting off a fracas, according to Anderson. Miu then got up, pulled out a knife, and “stabs everyone within reach, regardless of their role,” Anderson said. He stabbed one man who just happened to be standing nearby and another who had punched him in addition to the other victims. Much of the confrontation was caught on cellphone footage which was key to the state’s case.
After the stabbing, Miu never called 911 or tried to help. He just retrieved his tube and floated by, Anderson said.
“The river was running red with blood,” he said.
Miu cleaned off the knife, threw it in the river and then tried to walk away as if nothing happened. Anderson also pointed out that Miu spewed “bizarre lies” to cops including that the victims had knives and he didn’t. He testified at trial that he acted in self-defense.
Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit with his hands and feet shackled and staring down for much of the livestreamed portion of the hearing, he stood up to address the court and Schuman’s family.
“I would like to start by letting you know how deeply sorry I am and will always be for the fact that Isaac is not with you anymore and that I was directly involved in his tragic and unimaginable death at such an early age,” he said, fighting back tears. “I never meant for this tragedy to occur. My soul is broken. My heart is very heavy.”
Aaron Nelson, Miu’s defense attorney, said his client was an immigrant who had to escape Romania and had been an upstanding citizen in America prior to the incident on the river. He pointed out that other people escalated the argument.
“This is someone who was in a situation and overreacted,” Nelson told the judge.
Nelson asked for probation, citing Miu’s lack of prior criminal record and his good standing in the community. Prosecutors asked for 70 years though he could have faced up to 100 years.
St. Croix County District Judge R. Michael Waterman did not allow video cameras to stream the victim impact statements but several family members spoke.
“I think about Isaac all day, every day,” Schuman’s mother Alina Hernandez said, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Losing Isaac, my baby, has devastated me and shattered my heart.”
She asked for the maximum sentence, saying Miu has shown “no remorse” and plays the victim.
“It makes me nauseous,” she said.
Waterman noted that Miu has overcome several obstacles in his life, including fleeing Romania with his teenager and immigrating to America after receiving asylum. He learned English and went onto become an engineer.
But while he takes that into account, it does not make up for the seriousness of his crimes.
“When that person commits a serious crime, that person forfeits rights enjoyed by the law-abiding community,” Waterman said. “Taking life and endangering the life of others are two crimes that warrant significant punishment.”
Following his death, Schuman’s family released a statement.
“Isaac entered every room with a big smile, infectiously positive aura, and lifted everyone around him up,” they said in a statement. “He had an incredibly bright future ahead of him and we are all heartbroken and devastated beyond words that his future has been tragically and senselessly cut short. We very much appreciate the overwhelming outpouring of love and support from our friends, Isaac’s friends and the Stillwater Community. We also respectfully ask the media to honor our request for privacy at this extremely difficult time.”
Family members confirm the Apple River stabbing victim, who was killed on Saturday, is 17-year-old Isaac Schuman. He was looking forward to his senior year at Stillwater High School. Read the family’s full statement below. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/6xUhjk5AMH
— Heidi Wigdahl (@HeidiWigdahl) August 1, 2022
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