Apple River stabbing trial: Victim A.J. Martin shows gruesome injuries in court, 'My stomach was open'
Apple River stabbing trial: Disemboweled victim speaks
A.J. Martin recounted the gruesome injuries he suffered on the Apple River. Nicolae Miu, 54, is facing charges of first-degree intentional homicide for the death of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and multiple counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide for his alleged role in the stabbings on July 30, 2022.
HUDSON, Wis. (FOX 9) - A.J. Martin, who was badly injured in the Apple River stabbing, recounted his gruesome injuries in court on Wednesday.
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 — Martin, Dante Carlson, Tony Carlson and Ryhley Mattison — on July 30, 2022.
Martin was the 12th person to testify in Miu's trial, saying he remembers seeing Madison Coen getting hit during the fight as he was walking toward the group of teens and Miu.
Apple River stabbing trial: Victim shows scar in court
A.J. Martin showed his scar to the court while explaining the events that led up to the stabbing on the Apple River. Nicolae Miu, 54, is facing charges of first-degree intentional homicide for the death of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and multiple counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide for his alleged role in the stabbings on July 30, 2022.
Martin testified that after Miu hit Madison in the face, someone hit Miu and Miu fell into the water. Martin said his intention was to go over and try to break up the fight and figure out what was going on, but as he went over to do that, Miu got him with the knife.
"My stomach was open and my intestines were in my hands," Martin said.
He remembers telling Carlson he was going to die. He then remembers waking up in the hospital. He was in the hospital for 27 days, and had a few follow-up surgeries. He had to have a feeding tube due to complications.
He details this on the witness stand. Watch this above.
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.
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, 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."