Naman Shrestha
In July 2022, Nicolae “Nick” Miu’s life turned upside down after an unlikely encounter with two groups of people during a family outing on a river. As a verbal and physical altercation erupted between him and them, he pulled out his pocket knife and resorted to stabbing multiple people. The entire incident and the repercussions faced by Nick are extensively covered in detail in the episode titled ‘Pocket Knife Killer or Vulnerable Vacationer?’ of A&E’s ‘Accused: Did I Do It?.’ While he maintained his self-defense stance, the prosecution was determined to prove that the stabbings were intentional.
Nicolae “Nick” Miu’s Outing With His Loved Ones Turned Into a Nightmare
Born in Bucharest, Romania, Nicolae “Nick” Miu was a part of a family that was not treated well. Along with his family, including his twin brother, Mihai Miu, Nick managed to relocate to the States, where they started afresh and hoped to find success. After learning the language and immersing himself in the culture, he became a productive member of the nation’s society. He completed his education, landed a stable job, and even formed positive relationships with several people, including his wife. Leading a happily married life and maintaining close friendships, everything seemed to be going great until the fateful afternoon in the summer of 2022. On July 30, 2022, Nick went to the Apple River in Wisconsin with his family and friends.
What started as a regular outing turned into something deadly and life-altering when he reportedly began searching for his friend’s missing phone on the river alone. His search took him quite far away from his clan, leading to him encountering a group of teenagers hanging around. According to Nick’s account, they began accusing him of being a pedophile while he had been looking for the missing phone with the help of his goggles and a snorkel. As the verbal altercation intensified, another group of individuals joined in and surrounded him. Nick claimed that he started getting pushed and hit by multiple people in the crowd of 13 people, making him feel scared for his life. As per his version of the events, he took out his pocket knife and swung it at anyone who came near him in order to protect himself.
In the process, he reportedly stabbed five people — Ryhley Mattison, A.J. Martin, and brothers Dante and Tony Carlson. The fifth victim was a 17-year-old boy named Isaac Schuman, who succumbed to the stabbing injuries later in the hospital. After the incident, he allegedly threw away his knife on the bank of the river in a state of panic and returned to his family and friends. Not long after, he was apprehended by the police and taken into custody for one count of first-degree intentional homicide and four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Another woman who was part of the scuffle, Madison Coen, alleged that Nick had punched her before he was pushed and hit. Thus, he also faced a count of battery for allegedly punching Madison during the incident.
Nicolae “Nick” Miu is Incarcerated at a Wisconsin Prison Today
Nearly two years later, Nicolae “Nick” Miu stood trial for his homicide, attempted homicide, and battery charges in early April 2024. While the defense presented the video footage of the incident to the jury and claimed that the defendant acted in self-defense while he was being called names, the prosecution argued that Nick had several chances to walk away from the taunts but instead chose violence and allegedly punched Madison Coen before stabbing five individuals. When then-54-year-old Nick took the stand, he admitted that he lied to the authorities at first by claiming that he snatched a knife away from one of the individuals verbally harassing him.
Upon questioning, he testified that he was scared for his life when he was being allegedly attacked, which is why he decided to pull out his pocket knife in self-defense. After nine days of an intense trial, on April 11, 2024, the jury deliberated for seven hours before returning with a decisive verdict. Nick was convicted of killing Isaac Schuman and recklessly endangering the safety of four surviving victims. He was also found guilty of one count of battery against Madison. More than three months later, on July 31, 2024, the Romanian native’s sentence hearing arrived.
Right before his sentencing, he took the stand and addressed Isaac’s loved ones, saying, “I would like to start by letting you know how deeply sorrowful I am and will always be for the real fact that Isaac is not with you anymore, and that I was directly involved in his very tragic and unimaginable death at such an early age, I never meant for this tragedy to occur. My soul is broken. My heart is very heavy, and I will never be the same carrying such a heavy burden inside. I’m hoping that you appreciate how much I’m sorry for the outcome of those events. I’m very sorry.” In the end, he received a 20-year imprisonment sentence followed by six years of extended supervision. In addition, the judge also imposed concurrent sentences for the other stabbings as well as an additional nine-month jail sentence for the battery charge. Currently, Nicolae Miu AKA Nick is serving his sentence at Stanley Correctional Institution in Stanley, Wisconsin.
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