Minnesota man sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatal stabbing on Apple River
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A Minnesota man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of a teenager along a western Wisconsin river in 2022.
Nicolae Miu, 54, of Prior Lake, was found guilty in April of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman of Stillwater, who was tubing on the Apple River. Miu pulled out a knife during a confrontation in the water, killing Schuman and injuring four others.
Members of Schuman’s family, including his mother, father, and stepfather, spoke at the sentencing hearing in St. Croix County Circuit Court in Hudson and asked the judge to sentence Miu to the fullest extent possible.
Judge Michael Waterman sentenced Miu to 20 years in prison, followed by six years of extended supervision.
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Miu had also been found guilty of four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and one count of battery. Waterman issued shorter sentences on each of those counts, to be served concurrently.
During his trial, Miu argued that he acted in self defense after bystanders accused him of approaching children in the water, starting the confrontation between groups of people tubing.
Prosecutors said, based on cell phone video from the scene and witness accounts, that Miu had opportunities to walk away or deescalate the situation.
“Part of what makes this so tragic and horrific is how easily Nicolae Miu could have avoided all of this,” St. Croix County District Attorney Karl Anderson said at Wednesday’s hearing, livestreamed by Fox 9. “After he was insulted, he could have just let the boys float away. Instead, he charged up onto them.”
Miu’s defense attorney Aaron Nelson challenged that. He pointed to Miu’s clean record preceding the incident, and argued for a milder sentence.
“We have to consider the circumstances of the event,” Nelson said. “He didn’t put himself in that position. His actions, he reactions, did not occur in a vacuum.”
Miu read a brief statement at the hearing, addressing Schuman’s family and the others injured, speaking through tears.
“I’m hoping that you appreciate how much I’m sorry for the outcome of those events,” Miu said. “I never meant for this tragedy to occur. My soul is broken, my heart is very heavy, and I will never be the same carrying such a heavy burden.”
Waterman said he considered the accounts of suffering of Schuman’s family and friends.
“They have had to cope with the senseless death of a loved one,” Waterman said. “These are terrible acts that form an indelible stain on [Miu’s] character.”
The sentence is less than the maximum sentencing guidelines that the family had asked for. Waterman emphasized the jury’s finding that the homicide was not intentional, and said he took Miu’s clean criminal record into account.