Father of teen stabbed to death on Apple River by knife-wielding Wisconsin engineer, 54, chokes back tears after guilty verdict

The father of the teen stabbed to death on the Apple River by a Wisconsin engineer has made a heart-breaking statement outside court following the guilty verdict. 

Donny Hernandez choked back tears as he thanked those who have supported his family since Nicolae Miu, 54, slaughtered his son Isaac Schuman, 17, in September 2022.  

'I just want to thank all our supporters, our family, law enforcement, people that have supported us that we don't even know throughout the country, the state of Minnesota, wherever,' Hernandez said. 

'It's been 21 months we've been waiting for justice for Isaac Michael Schuman and we got it today... I appreciate your love and support.

Hernandez trailed off as he struggled not to break down before saying again: 'Justice for Isaac.'

Miu was found guilty Thursday morning of the first-degree reckless homicide after killing Isaac on the Apple River in Wisconsin during a bloody rampage which also saw him stab several other teens with a Swiss Army knife. 

The Romanian-American engineer was also found guilty of lesser charges of stabbing and injuring three boys and a girl. 

Miu's rampage came after he was surrounded by a large group of raucous teens while tubing down the river and several of them pushed him around while accusing him of 'looking at a girl'. 

He sat in silence with his head bowed as the verdict was read out after less than a day's deliberation. The trial lasted eight days, as more than three dozen witnesses took the stand.

The families of Miu's victims were heard giving a sigh of relief, KARE11 reporter Lou Raguse said. As he was led away afterwards, Miu was seen turning to stare at his surviving victims and their families.

First-degree reckless homicide was the third option available to jurors, after first-degree intentional homicide and second-degree homicide. It carries a sentence of up to 60 years in prison.

Miu said he had been searching for a friend's lost phone in the river when the teens falsely accused him of being a pedophile who was taking photos of young girls.

Horrific video of the interaction showed the teenagers heckling Miu before he pulled out a Swiss Army knife and started slashing them. 

One of the teens, Owen Peloquin, said he didn't see Isaac get stabbed, but dragged him to the shore when he saw him surrounded by a growing pool of his own blood in the water. 

'I tried my hardest to stop the bleeding,' Peloquin told the court as he became visibly emotional.

Schuman was taken in an ambulance to the Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater where he was pronounced dead.

Four more teens were stabbed in the shocking rampage - Ryhley Mattinson, A.J Martin, Dante Carlson and Tony Carlson.

Mattinson had to have emergency surgery and when she arrived her blood alcohol level was at 0.09.

Carlson suffered penetrating trauma from his stab wounds and had to have a hernia repaired and his blood alcohol level was also 0.09.

As he testified in court on Monday, Peloquin said that Miu 'just weirdly like sprinted at us, just made us all super uncomfortable.'

Miu's attorney claimed he acted in self-defense, while prosecutors said he could have dispatched his attackers by flashing his knife without resorting to violence.

On Tuesday, Miu took to the stand and described how he feared for his life after they 'surrounded him like wolves' on the day of the attack.

When asked about the violent confrontation, Miu said that he had 'tunnel vision' and was 'in a fog' during the heated situation.

He said that prior to interacting with the group, he had 'volunteered' to look for a friend's lost phone in the water before he interacted with the teenagers.

As he was shown pictures and video from that day, Miu said that he was touched by Madison Coen and Mattison before the knife was drawn.

He then said that as the interaction with the teens continued, his fear 'crept up' as they started to laugh and yell around him.

'They were very close, they were really close to me. I could feel and hear them,' Miu said.

Miu described how he reached for his pocket knife as his fear got 'really high' just before Madison placed her hand on his upper arm.

In recorded interviews, Miu said: 'All of a sudden, they were like wolves around me and they were attacking me from all directions and I truly, truly, feared for my life.'

'They came on to me. They hit me, they got on top of me, and I don't remember anything after that.'

During his testimony, he said that he didn't know how many people were attacking him but he knew that there were ‘more than he could handle' and that he has had 'nightmares' since.

A witness, Larrion Davis later told investigators that he saw the attacker 'taking pictures of girls' in the area.

However, as he took the stand last week, Davis appeared confused over this claim, and admitted he wasn't sure what he saw because 'there was a lot going on.'

Miu's then wife Sondra told detectives that the violent altercation began after Miu, whose group was further up the river, went back to find a 'phone that was lost' while wearing snorkeling gear.

While he was looking, Sondra said a 'group of guys got off their tubes and started hitting' him.

Miu pleaded not guilty to the charges in September 2022.

He was originally born in Romania and immigrated to the US when he was a teenager.

Sondra and Miu got divorced after the incident and he was 'living a peaceful, quiet life in Minnesota' and 'had never been in trouble before.'