Apple River stabbing trial Day 6 recap
HUDSON, Wis. (FOX 9) - The trial of Nicolae Miu, the man accused of the deadly stabbing on the Apple River in 2022, continues on Monday with witness testimony, marking the sixth day of the trial.
READ MORE: Key players in Nicolae Miu's trial
The witnesses who testified on Day 6 of the Apple River stabbing trial.
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.
READ MORE: Timeline of what happened
You can watch the trial live in the player above and on FOX 9's YouTube channel. Updates on the sixth day of the trial can be found below.
RELATED: Recap of Day 5 of the Apple River stabbing trial
2:31 p.m. - The court is in recess until Tuesday
The court is in recess until Tuesday, with the prosecution expected to call two more witnesses: Dr. Victor Froloff and Lt. Brandie Hart. Hart is the investigator who did the jailhouse interrogation with Miu.
2:04 p.m. - Amanda Torres, a longtime friend of Miu, testifies
Amanda Torres, the 44th witness, testifies for the defense. Amanda has known Miu for about 20 years. She testified Miu has a character for "peacefulness." She was tubing on the Apple River with Miu and their friends. She said he always seemed to have a pocket knife on him.
When Ariel's phone went missing, Ariel said don't worry about it, but Miu offered to go look for it, Amanda testified.
Amanda testified she saw Isaac Schuman on the river getting CPR but didn't see anyone else injured. She testified Miu was in shock after the fight, noting his face was pale and he wasn't speaking.
1:27 p.m. - Roberto Baldazo testifies for the defense
Roberto Baldazo testified for the defense. He's the 43rd witness overall, and the fourth witness for the defense. He was tubing down the Apple River on July 30, 2022, with his wife, three children, as well as some other family and friends. He had been drinking that day, he testified. He also had a knife on the river that day but it ended up getting lost that day.
He testified about what he remembered, including his wife running toward the injured tubers. He ran after her to aid Isaac Schuman. Watch his testimony above.
1:16 p.m. - Investigator Andrew Dittman testifies for the defense
Investigator Andrew Dittman of the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office, a witness for the defense to help accommodate schedules, testifies. He's the third witness for the defense and the 42nd witness overall. He took statements from several witnesses. Watch his testimony above.
1:03 p.m. - Detective Carlos de la Cruz testifies again
Detective Carlos de la Cruz testified again, saying Ariel Chaguez Leyet, Miu's friend and tubing party member, did not say Miu defended himself. In Ariel's testimony on Friday, Ariel said Miu defended himself.
12:45 p.m. - Deputy Benjamin Trebian testifies again
After a lunch break, the prosecution recalled Deputy Benjamin Trebian, who had previously testified. As part of his testimony, body camera footage of Trebian's interview with Ernesto Torres-Chaguez — Miu's tubing group member and best friend — was played in court.
In the body cam interview, Ernesto says he witnessed Miu get punched.
10:36 a.m. - Lead Investigator John Shilts Jr.
Investigator John Shilts Jr. of the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office is the 41st person to testify. He is the lead investigator on the case, and gets to sit in on the case throughout the trial. He responded to the scene of the Apple River stabbing, where he spoke with a few of the witnesses. The lead investigator is often used to string the case together.
As part of Shilts' investigation, he took photos of the scene, which were shared in court on Monday. He also testified about two other knives that were found in the investigation after the stabbing.
9:45 a.m. - Ashley Hoffman, a nurse, testifies
Ashley Hoffman, a nurse, is the 40th person to testify. She responded to the St. Croix County Jail after the stabbing, where she collected evidence on a suspect who had stabbed five people, Nicolae Miu. As part of this, she prepared a written report, which was entered into evidence.
Hoffman said Miu reported injuries, including getting hit in the back and back of the head but did not report any pain. The only pain he reported was his butt from falling on the rocks in the river. He also reported blood on his ear but no injuries to his ear were found.
During Hoffman's testimony, jailhouse exam photos of Miu were shown to the court.
9:37 a.m. - Investigator Sally Standaert testifies
Investigator Sally Standaert of the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office was the 39th witness to testify. She collected DNA samples via a buccal swab following the Apple River stabbing and logged them into evidence.
8:55 a.m. - Brian Myer, a doctor at Regions Hospital, testifies
Dr. Brian Myer, a trauma surgeon at Regions Hospital, is the 38th witness to testify. He treated Ryhley Mattison, A.J. Martin, and Dante Carlson. He described the injuries to Mattison, Martin and Carlson.
He testified Mattison required emergency surgery. Her BAC was 0.09 at the time it was tested.
While working on Mattison, he got word of a more critical patient, A.J. As he was being flown to Regions, his heart had stopped and it stopped again as he was being taken into the operating room – his heart stopped for 9-plus minutes while being transported for emergency life-saving surgery. Martin suffered multiple injuries, including to his right common iliac artery, left common iliac vein, small intestines and colon. Martin's injuries required multiple follow-up surgeries. A BAC of Martin was not taken.
Dante Carlson suffered penetrating trauma, Myer testified. He had no injuries beyond his abdominal wall – he had a hernia that was repaired. His BAC was 0.09 at the time it was tested.
8:02 a.m. - Owen Peloquin, Isaac Shuman's ‘best friend,’ testifies
Owen Peloquin, Isaac Shuman's friend who was tubing with him the day he was killed, is the 35th witness to testify for the state, and the 37th witness overall. He described how Miu "weirdly sprinted at us" when they were sitting in their tubes on the Apple River that day. On the cellphone video, you can hear Peloquin say, "Yo, get away." But Peloquin testified Miu didn't get away, but Miu grabbed onto their tubes. The teenagers then got out of their tubes.
Peloquin testified they were calling Miu a pedophile and weirdo because they heard him make a comment about "little girls." He testified he regrets they called him names and wished they'd done things differently that day.
Peloquin testified a group of adults made their way over to them, making him feel more comfortable. While Miu was talking to a blonde woman, Peloquin testified he saw Miu had a knife and he told his friends about the knife, trying to pull people away from Miu before he moved away.
In regard to Madison Coen getting hit, Peloquin testified he didn't see Miu strike her but did see her stumble backward.
After Isaac was stabbed, Peloquin testified he tried his hardest to stop the bleeding in Isaac's chest. He said Isaac was eventually taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Isaac Shuman's hands on Nicolae Miu's neck, as seen in cellphone video of the attack on the Apple River. (FOX 9)
8 a.m. - Court resumes
The trial resumed at 8 a.m.