A Minnesota man who claimed self-defense in the stabbing death of a teenager during a violent dinghy fight on a Wisconsin river has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Nicolae Miu kept his head down and in tears until he was sentenced in 2022 for the murder of high school honor student Isaac Shuman.
Before the sentence was handed down, Miu was shackled to the floor in an orange prison uniform and testified in St. Croix County District Court.
“My soul is shattered and my heart is very heavy,” he said. “I never thought a tragedy like this would happen.”
Schumann, 17, was with a group on the Apple River near Somerset, Wisconsin, when he came across Miu, who was using a snorkel and goggles to search for her lost cell phone.
The 54-year-old engineer was approached by a group of young men and women, aged between 17 and 24, who accused Miu of being a pedophile and of “looking for little girls” in the water. Reported by KARE 11on the grounds of criminal charges.
Miu, who was tubing with another group that included his wife, told investigators he went into “self-defense mode” during the fatal crash and was “attacked.”
A cellphone video taken by one of Schumann’s friends showed Miu slowly pulling out a Swiss Army knife, which she said she was holding to cut the rope for a planned water tubing excursion.
According to court documents obtained by KARE 11, the footage then shows the group moving towards Miu and stabbing her and attacking the other four after she falls into the water.
The four victims, three men and one woman, all in their early 20s, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and serious to critical injuries to their torsos. MPR News reported.
After eight hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Miu in April of first-degree manslaughter, four counts of negligently endangering safety and one count of assault.
St. Croix County District Attorney Carl Anderson had sought a 70-year sentence, but state law gives judges broad discretion in sentencing and there are no guidelines in murder cases.
“It’s hard to put into words how graphic and horrifying this was,” Anderson said in court. According to the Star Tribune.
St. Croix County District Court Judge R. Michael Waterman sentenced Miu, arguing that she did not act in self-defense and did not intend to stab the victim.
“The court’s finding is that it has to show that it was reckless and not deliberate,” Waterman said, echoing the jury’s findings in April, the outlet reported.
“Mr. Mew has done much more than what he did on July 30th,” Waterman told the court, adding that he believed Mew’s apology to the Shuman family was sincere.
Waterman recounted Miu’s life story and how he arrived from Romania, learned English, got an education and built a career as an engineer.
In addition to the 20-year sentence, Judge Waterman sentenced Miu’s four other victims to five years each.
Miu will serve the additional sentence concurrently with her 20-year sentence, adding approximately two years to the time she has already served.
He will be 72 upon his release and will be under long-term supervision for an additional six years.
Schumann’s parents had hoped that Miu would receive a longer sentence.
“We feel like justice was served,” Isaac’s father, Scott Schuman, told reporters outside the courtroom.
In a victim impact statement, Isaac’s mother said she thinks about her son every day and called for Waterman to receive the maximum sentence of 100 years.
“I think about Isaac all day every day,” Alina Hernandez said in court. “Losing my sweet Isaac has been a huge blow to me and my heart has been shattered.
“(Mew) has no remorse. He’s playing the victim. It makes me sick,” his heartbroken mother added. “Judge, please give him the maximum sentence.”
