Apple River stabbing trial: Dante Carlson unbuttons shirt, shows court his stab wound

Dante Carlson, who was stabbed on the Apple River in July 2022, stood up and unbuttoned his shirt in court, revealing his stab wound. 

Carlson testified Tuesday, the second day of Nicolae Miu's trial, that he punched Miu before Miu stabbed him in the abdomen/chest area, revealing his stab wound in the courtroom.

Nicolae Miu, 54, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and multiple counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide that could send him to prison for life if he is convicted. He is accused of killing Stillwater, Minnesota, native 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and wounding four others — Dante Carlson, Tony Carlson, Ryhley Mattison and A.J. Martin — on July 30, 2022. 

WATCH: Stream the Apple River stabbing trial

Carlson was tubing down the Apple River with his family and friends when they came up on a group of teenagers and Miu. His father, Quinton Carlson, had him and his brother go over to the group to see what was going on. Dante said the teenagers were calling Miu names. 

Eventually, Dante said he punched Miu after he hit Madison Coen. Miu eventually stabbed Dante in the lower abdomen/chest area, he testified. 

Apple River stabbing: What happened 

According to court records, the stabbing took place on the Apple River near the Sunrise Bridge in Somerset, Wisconsin, which allegedly started after Miu was apparently looking for a friend's cell phone in the river but was confronted by tubers who said he was acting sketchy. 

READ MORE: Timeline of what happened

The encounter escalated, and he apparently punched a female on the left side of her face before Miu was punched, eventually leading to the stabbing.

Witnesses began calling 911 at 3:47 p.m. on July 30, 2022, which indicated there were potentially four or five victims with wounds to the mid to upper body. 

A 24-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minnesota, a 20-year-old and 22-year-old man from Luck, Wisconsin, and a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minnesota, were injured in the attack. But, 17-year-old Schuman died from his injuries.   

According to the criminal complaint, Miu claimed the attack was self-defense. He said he was "so fearful" for his safety, adding he wasn't sure what the people in the river were going to do to him, and "everything happened so fast."

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