The father of the teenager stabbed to death in the Apple River by a Wisconsin engineer made a heartbreaking statement outside court following the guilty verdict.
Donny Hernández fought back tears as he thanked those who have supported his family since Nicolae Miu, 54, massacred his son Isaac Schuman, 17, in September 2022.
“I just want to thank all of our fans, our family, law enforcement, people who have supported us that we don’t even know across the country, the state of Minnesota or wherever,” Hernandez said.
‘It’s been 21 months that we’ve been waiting for justice for Isaac Michael Schuman and we have it today… I appreciate your love and support.
Hernandez fell silent as he fought not to break down before saying again, “Justice for Isaac.”
Donny Hernández (pictured) fought back tears as he thanked those who have supported his family since Nicolae Miu, 54, massacred his son Isaac Schuman, 17, in September 2022.
Isaac Shuman, 17, died after Miu stabbed him in the chest in the river. Miu also stabbed four of Schuman’s friends.
Miu turned to look at his surviving victims and their families when he was found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide on Thursday, meaning he faces up to 60 years in prison.
Nicolae Miu sits with his head bowed Thursday morning as he is found guilty of the first-degree reckless homicide of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman.
Miu was found guilty Thursday morning of first-degree reckless homicide after killing Isaac at the Apple River in Wisconsin during a bloody rampage in which he also stabbed several other teens with a Swiss Army knife.
The Romanian-American engineer was also found guilty of lesser charges of stabbing and wounding three boys and a girl.
Miu’s rampage came after he was surrounded by a large group of raucous teenagers while boating on the river and several of them shoved him while accusing him of “looking at a girl.”
He sat silently with his head bowed as the verdict was read after less than a day of deliberation. The trial lasted eight days and more than three dozen witnesses took the stand.
Families of Miu’s victims were heard breathing a sigh of relief, KARE11 reporter Lou Raguse said. As he was led away afterwards, Miu was seen turning to look at his surviving victims and her families.
First-degree reckless homicide was the third option available to jurors, after first-degree intentional homicide and second-degree murder. It carries a sentence of up to 60 years in prison.
Miu said he had been searching for a friend’s lost phone in the river when the teenagers falsely accused him of being a pedophile who was taking pictures of girls.
Horrifying video of the interaction showed the teens heckling Miu before he pulled out a Swiss Army knife and began cutting them.
Families of Miu’s victims were heard breathing a sigh of relief, said Kare11 reporter Lou Raguse.
Rhyley Mattison (left) and Tony Carlson (right): two of the five teenagers stabbed by Miu in Apple River. Mattinson had to undergo emergency surgery
AJ Marin (left) and Dante Carlson (right): two others who were stabbed by Miu
During closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors said Nicolae Miu “did not act in self-defense” when she stabbed a group of teenagers in the Apple River in July 2022 (pictured: Miu in court on Tuesday).
One of the teens, Owen Peloquin, said he did not see Isaac get stabbed, but he dragged him to shore when he saw him surrounded by a growing pool of his own blood in the water.
“I did everything I could to stop the bleeding,” Peloquin told the court while becoming visibly emotional.
Schuman was taken by ambulance to Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater, where he was pronounced dead.
Four more teenagers were stabbed in the shocking rampage: Ryhley Mattinson, AJ Martin, Dante Carlson and Tony Carlson.
Mattinson had to undergo emergency surgery and when he arrived his blood alcohol level was at 0.09.
Carlson suffered penetrating trauma from his stab wounds and had to have a hernia repaired, and his blood alcohol level was also 0.09.
While testifying in court on Monday, Peloquin said Miu “just, weirdly, ran up to us, made us all feel super uncomfortable.”
Miu’s lawyer claimed she acted in self-defense, while prosecutors said she could have dispatched her attackers by showing her knife without resorting to violence.
On Tuesday, Miu took the stand and described how he feared for his life after he was “surrounded like wolves” the day of the attack.
When asked about the violent confrontation, Miu said she had “tunnel vision” and was “in a fog” during the heated situation.
Miu, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, claimed her fatal stabbing was in “self-defense” after the tuber group claimed she was “looking for little girls” and “taking pictures of girls” in the area.
When asked about the violent confrontation, Miu said she had “tunnel vision” and forgot what happened after the situation became heated.
Video of the chilling moment showed a member of the group stumbling towards the river as a pool of red water emerged around them.
He said that before interacting with the group, he had “volunteered” to search for a friend’s lost phone in the water before interacting with the teens.
While being shown photos and videos from that day, Miu said Madison Coen and Mattison touched him before they pulled out the knife.
He then said that as the interaction with the teens continued, his fear “increased” when they began laughing and shouting around him.
‘They were very close, they were very close to me. “I could feel them and hear them,” Miu said.
Miu described how she reached for her pocket knife when her fear became “really high” right before Madison put her hand on her arm.
In recorded interviews, Miu said: “Suddenly, they were like wolves around me and attacking me from all directions and I really, really, feared for my life.”
‘They approached me. They hit me, they jumped on me and I don’t remember anything after that.’
During his testimony, he said he didn’t know how many people were attacking him, but he knew there were “more than he could handle” and that he has had “nightmares” ever since.
A witness, Larrion Davis, later told investigators that he saw the attacker “taking pictures of girls” in the area.
However, when he took the stand last week, Davis seemed confused by this claim and admitted he wasn’t sure what he saw because “there was a lot going on.”
Miu’s then-wife, Sondra, told detectives that the violent altercation began after Miu, whose group was upriver, returned and found a “phone that was lost” while wearing snorkel gear.
As he watched, Sondra said, “a group of guys got off the tubes and started beating him.”
Miu pleaded not guilty to the charges in September 2022.
He was originally born in Romania and immigrated to the United States when he was a teenager.
Sondra and Miu divorced after the incident and he was “living a peaceful and quiet life in Minnesota” and had “never been in trouble before.”