A jury found Nicolae Miu guilty on Thursday of first-degree reckless homicide and other charges in the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old on western Wisconsin’s Apple River in 2022.
Jury deliberations began Wednesday after testimony ended. The jury also found Miu guilty of four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety while using a dangerous weapon, and one count of battery while using a dangerous weapon.
Gasps could be heard in the courtroom, following the verdict, which was read by Judge R. Michael Waterman just after 11 a.m. A sentencing date wasn’t announced in the courtroom.
After the jury left the courtroom, Miu’s attorney Aaron Nelson put his arm around Miu, who shook his head.
Outside the courtroom, two members of Miu’s family were in tears. His fraternal twin brother declined to comment. “Not at this time,” he said.
Miu, 54, of Prior Lake, testified Tuesday that his “fear scale” kept growing during the confrontation with two groups of tubers in Somerset on July 30, 2022.
At the start of the trial, a photo of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman was displayed in front of the jury during the Nicolae Miu trial at the St. Croix County District Court in Hudson, Wis., on Monday, April 1, 2024. (Elizabeth Flores, Pool via Star Tribune)
He said he feared for his life when he stabbed Isaac Schuman, of Stillwater, in the chest and seriously injured Ryhley Mattison, then 24, of Burnsville; A.J. Martin, then 22, of Elk River; and brothers Dante Carlson and Tony Carlson, both in their early 20s, of Luck, Wis. All five were stabbed once. Schuman bled to death.
Prosecutors tried to get across to jurors the confrontation began when Miu ran up to Schuman’s group while he was looking for his friend’s lost phone and that he had opportunities to walk away, despite the taunts from Schuman’s group.
They said it turned violent after he became angry and either pushed Coen or punched her in the face — an alleged assault not on video — and reacted with his pocket knife.
EARLIER: Apple River stabbing trial turns on murder vs. self-defense
Late Tuesday, the prosecution added lesser charges against Miu to go along with the original charges of first-degree intentional homicide, four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and one count of misdemeanor battery.
Miu also faced second-degree intentional homicide; first- and second-degree reckless homicide; and four counts each of attempted second-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree reckless homicide and attempted second-degree reckless homicide.
Jurors considered the intentional murder charge first. When they didn’t find him guilty of the other counts, they moved on to considering other charges.
This is a breaking news story and will update.
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