A 17-year-old boy was killed by a man who attacked five people during what was supposed to be a joyful summer afternoon of tubing on a Wisconsin river.
Nicolae Miu, 54, was found guilty by a jury in April of four counts of reckless endangering safety—for stabbing four other people who survived—and one count of battery—for punching a woman in the face. On Wednesday, the judge sentenced Miu to 20 years in prison. Miu was the man behind the stabbings.
The event happened on the Apple River in St. Croix, a well-liked summer tubing destination, in July 2022.
Schuman, who was about to start his senior year of high school, was with one group, while Miu was with another. Miu became agitated when he started arguing with the others at some point. The St. Croix County District Attorney, Karl Anderson, stated before the sentencing that although several people begged Miu to go and continue with his enjoyable day, he made the decision not to.
“Part of what makes this so tragic and so horrific is how easily Nicolae Miu could have avoided all of this,” Anderson stated. “After he was insulted he could have just let the boys float away. Instead he charged up onto them. When the boys were yelling at him to leave, he doesn’t. When the other group comes to intervene, to yell at him to tell him to leave, he doesn’t.”
Even while he considers that, it still does not lessen the gravity of his misdeeds.
“When that person commits a serious crime, that person forfeits rights enjoyed by the law-abiding community,” Waterman stated. “Taking life and endangering the life of others are two crimes that warrant significant punishment.”
