A Minnesota engineer sobbed as he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing a high school student to death while tubing on a river, just days after the second anniversary of the attack.
Nicolae Miu, 54, was handed two decades behind bars at his sentencing on Wednesday, as well as six years of extended supervision after his release for the stabbings along Apple River in St Croix County in Wisconsin in July 2022.
He was convicted by a jury in April of first-degree reckless homicide, four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and one count of battery.
The attack killed 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and injured four other people, all of who have been left with permanent disfigurements. Miu and the victims were not in the same tubing group before the attack.
Investigators say Miu claimed he came upon the victims while he was using a snorkel and goggles to look for a lost phone, thinking they had located something, CNN reports.
However, the convicted man alleged he was being taunted, saying he felt threatened and was acting in self-defense when he pulled out a knife and began stabbing people, according to a criminal complaint from 2022.
Miu told investigators that he was feeling “fearful” while being confronted by the victims, who he said threw his snorkeling gear in the water, attempted to pull down his bathing suit, and called him a “child molester,” the criminal complaint said, according to CNN.
One of the victims told authorities she was punched in the face by Miu, which triggered a physical altercation as a man punched Miu back and the group pushed him, making him fall into the water.
Defense attorney Aaron Nelson, however, argued that someone other than Miu had escalated the fight and that while resorting to using a knife was a reckless act, Miu “didn’t act with malice and forethought. He acted out of fear,” CBS News reports.
St Croix County District Judge R. Michael Waterman said that Miu had made a series of “very poor decisions” when he was confronted with these “words and boorish taunts and insults.”
“He fled the scene, leaving his victims to die while casually floating by them and emergency workers as if nothing had happened,” the judge said, adding that he was arrested once he tried to leave the scene in his car.
Waterman told the court that “other than his conduct on July 30, Mr Miu appears to be a non-violent, peaceful man,” CBS News said.
The teenager who died in the attack was a senior in high school preparing to apply for college. He hoped to pursue an electrical engineering degree and had recently started a car and boat detailing business. His family described him as "mature for his age" with a "forward-looking mentality that was uncommon for a high school senior."
"Isaac entered every room with a big smile, infectiously positive aura, and lifted everyone around him up. He had an incredibly bright future ahead of him and we are all heartbroken and devastated beyond words that his future has been tragically and senselessly cut short. We very much appreciate the overwhelming outpouring of love and support from our friends, Isaac’s friends and the Stillwater Community," his family said in a statement to KARE in 2022.
In an impact statement at the sentencing, Schuman’s mother, Alina Hernandez, said, according to CBS News, that Miu "stole Isaac’s life and he stole my life."
"I hope that monster suffers as much as I do every day until he gets to hell," she said.
At his sentencing, Miu only looked up to read a statement to the victim’s families.
“I never meant for this tragedy to occur. My soul is broken,” Miu said . “My heart is very heavy, and I will never be the same carrying such a heavy burden inside.”
“I’m very sorry,” Miu added through tears, turning toward the families.
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