Nicolae Miu Update: Sentence, Civil Lawsuit, and Self-Defense

Nicolae Miu, the Minnesota man who fatally stabbed 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and wounded four others during a tubing outing on Wisconsin’s Apple River in July 2022, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a St. Croix County jury convicted him of first-degree reckless homicide and five additional counts. He was sentenced on July 31, 2024, and in February 2025 the four surviving victims filed a civil lawsuit against him and his insurer. The latest Nicolae Miu update centers on that pending civil case, because the criminal proceedings are now complete.

Where the Case Stands

On April 11, 2024, after roughly seven hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Miu of the top counts of first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. It convicted him instead of the lesser-included offenses:¹

First-degree reckless homicide for the death of Isaac Schuman.
Four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety for the stabbings of A.J. Martin, Dante Carlson, Tony Carlson, and Ryhley Mattison.
Battery for punching Madison Coen.

The distinction between intentional and reckless conduct shaped everything that followed. Intentional homicide carried a potential life sentence in Wisconsin; reckless homicide carries a maximum of 40 years.¹

The 20-Year Sentence

St. Croix County Circuit Court Judge R. Michael Waterman handed down the sentence on July 31, 2024. Prosecutors had asked for 70 years, including 45 years of initial confinement on the homicide count.² The judge instead imposed concurrent terms:³

First-degree reckless homicide (Schuman): 20 years in prison, 6 years extended supervision.
First-degree recklessly endangering safety (A.J. Martin): 6 years in prison, 5 years extended supervision.
First-degree recklessly endangering safety (Tony Carlson): 5 years in prison, 5 years extended supervision.
First-degree recklessly endangering safety (Dante Carlson): 5 years in prison, 5 years extended supervision.
First-degree recklessly endangering safety (Ryhley Mattison): 5 years in prison, 5 years extended supervision.
Battery (Madison Coen): 270 days in jail.

Miu received credit for 732 days already served. Because the sentences run concurrently, his effective prison term is 20 years, and he will be roughly 72 years old when eligible for release.⁴

Judge Waterman explained that the sentence had to track what the jury actually found. “The court’s sentence must reflect the reality that it was reckless conduct that the jury found him guilty of, not intentional conduct, which is punishable much more harshly,” he said.⁵ Waterman criticized Miu for leaving the scene and “casually floating past” his victims and emergency workers as if nothing had happened, but he also said he believed Miu was genuinely sorry, had no criminal history, and did not pose an imminent risk to the public.³

Family and Survivor Reaction

Isaac Schuman’s mother, Alina Hernandez, called the 20-year term “nauseating” and “unjust” and said it felt as though there was “no justice for any of the other victims.”⁶ Isaac’s stepfather, Donny Hernandez, felt the judge had focused too heavily on Miu’s positive attributes during the hearing. Scott Schuman, Isaac’s father, took a different view outside the courthouse, saying he had hoped for a longer term but was glad the process was over and that “justice has been served.”⁷

Survivors described lasting harm at the sentencing hearing. A.J. Martin said his scars “hurt all the time” and that he struggled to feel safe leaving his home. Ryhley Mattison testified that her digestive system was permanently altered and that she lives with ongoing dread around other people.⁸ Miu read a statement of his own: “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 inside.”⁶

The Civil Lawsuit

In February 2025, Ryhley Mattison, A.J. Martin, Dante Carlson, and Tony Carlson filed a civil suit against Miu and his insurance company in St. Croix County Circuit Court. The complaint alleges negligence resulting in physical and psychological injuries, pain, and suffering, and the plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial. The case remains active.⁹ Isaac Schuman’s family is not among the named plaintiffs in this filing.

What Happened on the Apple River

The confrontation began on July 30, 2022, when Miu, 54 at the time and tubing with his wife and friends, became separated from his group and entered the water with a snorkel and goggles. He later told investigators he was searching for a friend’s lost cell phone. A nearby group of younger tubers accused him of “looking for little girls” and called him a “predator” and a “child molester.” Audio from cellphone recordings on the river indicated he was asked to leave more than 20 times.⁵¹⁰

A second group arrived to intervene. According to witnesses and prosecutors, Miu punched Madison Coen in the face; bystanders shouted “he hit a girl,” and Dante Carlson punched Miu, knocking him down into the shallow water. Within about 25 seconds, Miu emerged with a knife and began stabbing.⁴¹⁰ Isaac Schuman, of Stillwater, Minnesota, suffered a 4.3-inch stab wound to the left chest and died. Four others were wounded, with A.J. Martin’s injuries the most severe; he later testified that his “intestines were in his hands” during the aftermath.¹¹ Miu washed the knife, discarded it on the riverbank, returned to his group without saying what had happened, and was arrested about 90 minutes later.⁵

Why the Self-Defense Claim Failed

The trial ran nine days beginning April 1, 2024, and the jury’s split verdict traced back to how it weighed Miu’s self-defense argument. Miu testified he was “in self-defense mode” and believed he would have died without the knife. His defense pointed to a group of roughly 13 intoxicated people who surrounded him, taunted him, threw his snorkeling gear into the water, and attempted to pull down his swim trunks, and to his 2020 quadruple bypass surgery as evidence of physical vulnerability.¹¹

District Attorney Karl Anderson countered with roughly three minutes and 20 seconds of cellphone video shot by witness Jawahn Cockfield, which he said showed Miu pulling the knife from his own pocket, contradicting Miu’s claim that he grabbed it from an attacker. The jury asked to review that video again during deliberations, hours before returning its verdict.¹¹¹² Prosecutors also played recorded jailhouse calls in Romanian in which Miu referred to the teenagers as “demons from hell” and “baboon bastards” and said he “would’ve rushed there terminating those guys, leaving them belly up” if someone in his group had faced a similar threat.² Investigators had also found a large machete under the center console of Miu’s Jeep weeks after the stabbing, and members of Miu’s own tubing group testified he often carried a knife. Miu conceded on the stand that he had initially lied to police by claiming two of his attackers had knives.

The Isaac Schuman Foundation

Isaac’s family established the Isaac Schuman Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, in his memory. It awards an annual $2,000 scholarship to graduating seniors at Stillwater Area High School who demonstrate a commitment to kindness, generosity, and career aspirations aligned with Isaac’s values.¹³ The foundation also hosts an annual charity golf tournament at Oak Glen Golf Course in Stillwater, Minnesota, with its fourth event scheduled for August 2026.¹⁴

1
KSTP. Jury Reaches Verdict in Trial of Nicolae Miu
2
CBS News Minnesota. Nicolae Miu Apple River Sentencing
3
Fox 9. Apple River Stabbing Nicolae Miu Sentenced
4
KARE 11. Apple River Killer Nicolae Miu to Be Sentenced
5
CNN. Nicolae Miu Sentencing Wisconsin River Stabbing
6
NewsNation. Apple River Stabbing Victim Parents 20 Year Sentence Unjust
7
Star Tribune. Nicole Miu Sentencing Underway in Apple River Stabbing Case
8
CBS News Minnesota. Nicolae Miu Victim Impact Statements
9
KARE 11. Apple River Stabbing Survivors File Civil Suit Against Nicolae Miu
10
CBS News Minnesota. Apple River Wisconsin Deadly Stabbing Trial Begins
11
Court TV. WI v. Nicolae Miu Apple River Stabbings Trial
12
MPR News. Apple River Stabbing Case Verdict
13
Isaac Schuman Foundation. Isaac Schuman Foundation
14
Ticket Stripe. Isaac Schuman Foundation Golf Tournament