Apple River stabbing trial: Jurors speak out on deliberations, verdict

HUDSON, Wis. (FOX 9) - Two jurors who deliberated Nicolae Miu’s fate in the Apple River stabbing trial told FOX 9 the panel of 12 quickly focused on the issue of criminality between intentional and reckless homicide, with little support among jurors that the stabbings were done in self-defense.

Both jurors also questioned whether Miu should have taken the stand, concluding the now 54-year-old man from Prior Lake hurt himself more with his testimony rather than helping his case.

The jurors, one in their 30s, the other in their 60s, asked FOX 9 to not publicly identify themselves, but they agreed to speak openly with Reporter Paul Blume to provide insights into the two-day deliberations in the high-stakes trial.

The jury was made up of six men and six women. Court administration has said jurors ranged in age from their 20s all the way up to a woman in her 90s. One juror told Blume the age range was beneficial to the deliberations given the different perspectives with "everyone having a voice, everyone contributing." This juror described the process as a "team effort."

In total, the jury deliberated less than seven hours in finding Miu guilty of half a dozen charges in the July 2022 stabbings on western Wisconsin’s Apple River – first-degree reckless homicide for killing 17-year-old Isaac Schuman as well as four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety for stabbing Ryhley Mattison, A.J. Martin, Anthony "Tony" Carlson and his brother Dante Carlson. The jury also found Miu guilty of battery for striking Madison Coen.

The jurors said the group first began its deliberations on Wednesday afternoon last week by specifically discussing the battery charge. They explained even though it was the least severe count, it was the physical altercation between the defendant and Coen that escalated the chaotic confrontation first involving Miu and a group of Schuman and his teenage Stillwater, Minnesota, friends. The Schuman group admitted to drinking and smoking marijuana on the river that day. Video captures them taunting Miu and calling him names. 

"The Madison Coen battery charge was a really big thing for the whole case because that basically amounted to, who threw the first punch? When did things get physical?" said the juror in his 30s. "And, you know, we looked at that as, it was his word against the other witnesses. There was no video of that. And, and after standing on the stand there and lying so much even to the investigators as well, he admitted to pushing her away and, you know, what others took as, was it a slap or a punch? We had more people that said he punched her. And we are forced to look purely at the evidence. So, we went with that he had punched her."

Schuman's friend Jawahn Cockfield was recording the interaction on his cell phone camera. The video provided the critical evidence in the case. But the juror pointed out the 3-minute and 20-second video missed the Miu-Coen confrontation. 

Both jurors believed the testimony of Tony Carlson carried a lot of weight in terms of credibility, with Carlson admitting to drinking while out tubing with his father and family, describing what he saw from his perspective, initially coming over to separate Miu from the teenage boys when he said, he saw Miu strike Coen.

The jurors said while the group discussed Miu’s claims of self-defense, and they scrutinized the 30 pages of jury instructions for legal definitions, there was never any momentum for an acquittal or a justification for the use of deadly force.

For the juror in his 60s, he said a couple of elements he focused on – Miu’s apparent skill in the way he pulled out and ultimately used the knife, and the fact that he never said anything to warn the group around him that he had a deadly weapon. The juror also believed prosecutors established there were escape routes for Miu to leave the situation before it ended with Schuman dead and four others injured.

"I mean, it's not like anybody was, had a fence behind him or they were holding him there," added the juror in his 30s. "He could of went, even if it was the wrong direction, he could have walked away, circled back to his group. Or he could have walked right past everybody and went back to his group."

Given the similar views among jurors that what happened involved some level of criminality, both men said a lot of time was spent discussing the definition of "intent" as it related to the intentional and attempted intentional homicide charges Miu faced. The group of 12 found unanimous agreement on the reckless charges while "two or three" argued for convictions on the "intentional" counts.

"There was a few jurors that did, indeed kind of lean towards the intentional," explained the juror in his 30s. "But after looking at everything overall. You know, I think it was just more of a freak thing. You know, it was people in the moment, I don't think initially he (Miu) had the thought of, I am going to kill one of these boys or all these boys. So, we looked at that."

As for Miu’s testimony, the jurors singled out the defendant’s repeated assertions that he did not remember aspects of the encounter – especially those detrimental to his claims of self-defense. He is still unsure why Miu rushed back toward the teens who were yelling at him and calling him names on the video, wondering if Miu truly thought the group had found the missing phone he was searching for in his snorkel and goggles.

"I don't think he had much choice but to go on the stand," the juror in his 30s told Blume. "I think if he really was going to plead self-defense and have a case, I think he needed to take the stand to explain himself. In this case, which I think is probably with a lot of cases, it actually hurt him because the stories did not match. There were so many things that were not true that he said."

The juror in his 60s concluded his discussion with Blume by saying he believes "alcohol was the biggest factor in the whole thing," calling the outcome, "just awful."

He added the American criminal justice system is not perfect. "We did the best we could. We just wanted justice to be served," he said.

The juror in his 30s summed up his experience with the two-week trial, "Difficult, you know, as jurors we are supposed to sit there and be emotionless and watch people get stabbed to death and their guts hanging out and all that. We actually, physically saw all of the evidence. Some of the stuff wasn't televised. They passed out pictures and we looked at them. Some of it was very gruesome.It was hard to sit there and watch what happened, and not say anything. You have questions as you're going through the whole thing and you can't ask a question, of course. And, you know, just emotional. I mean, it is stuff that I will never forget."

Miu remains jailed in Hudson, Wisconsin, in advance of sentencing, which is scheduled for July 31. Prosecutors have said given the verdict, he faces up to 97 years in prison. But ultimately, the trial judge, Michael Waterman will have the final say.