How Wisconsin HVAC engineer Nicolae Miu loved his dog and his guns - including one bought by his wife for Valentine's Day - but was a 'peaceful' man before stabbing five teens in river frenzy, she claims

Before he became known as a frenzied stabber who attacked a group of teenagers on the Apple River on what would have been a fun day out with friends, Nicolae Miu was a 'peaceful' man who loved his engineering job and spent most of his time thinking about his dog. 

That's what a trial heard this week as Miu was convicted of the murder of Isaac Shuman, a 17-year-old who was among the group tormenting Miu. They labeled him a pedophile, insisting he'd been taking photographs of girls in their swimwear. 

The man who gave them that idea admitted at Miu's trial that he'd made it up in the heat of the moment. 

Convinced he was under attack, Miu lashed out - stabbing five teenagers, including Shuman and a teenage girl, before tossing the knife. Some of the victims' wounds were horrific. One lifted his shirt to show the huge torso scar that Miu inflicted when he sliced him from ribs to his pelvis. 

In Miu's defense, his estranged wife Sondra testified that he was not violent, and had been acting in self-defense. She filed for divorce a month before the trial began, citing the stress of it as the cause of the marriage breakdown. 

In old social media posts, Miu - a Romanian native who arrived in the US as a teenager - he gave a glimpse into their marriage with photos of the handgun she bought him for Valentine's Day. 

In divorce filings obtained by DailyMail.com, Miu was previously married to a woman named Teodora, who he shared a son, Alex, with in 2005. 

The couple divorced in 2009, and court records show that he and his mother moved to Bucharest, Romania at the end of the marriage while Nicolae remained in Minnesota. 

He worked at Ritchie Engineering, and earned $7,250 a month, according to the divorce filing. 

Miu then remarried in 2011 with his colleague at the engineering factory, who testified in his defense at his murder trial this week. 

She described him as a 'peaceful' man who was known to help neighbors fixing things, often with his 'utility knife' that was used in the attack.  

Sondra divorced him last month, but insisted that she still loves him. 

On the stand, he told about undergoing quadruple bypass surgery in the years before the fatal incident. 

He cried when presented with a photo of his terrier, his beloved dog that he referred to as his 'baby', his 'angel'.  

Prosecutors also claimed that Miu was drunk during the attack, however Sondra insisted he only had one or two beers, and was only a 'moderate drinker' who would only drink alcohol occasionally. 

She added that Nicolae has a quadruple bypass surgery in 2020. 

While described as a peaceful man, during his marriage Miu would frequently share right-wing jokes on his since-deleted Facebook account. 

Archived images from his old Facebook showed he would often share his views on weapons and his love of the Second Amendment. 

In one post from 2019, Miu shared an image of a handgun and ammo inside a heart-shaped box that his wife had bought for him as a gift. 

'Big thanks to my wonderful wife! I love my present! Happy Valentine’s Day to you too!' he wrote. 

He also reshared a post in March 2020 reading: 'I believe in the right to keep and bear arms. A Facebooker has challenged all gun owners to put this on their wall. 

'The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right of an individual. 

'If you believe in the 2nd Amendment, and you are not afraid to show it, re-post this!! Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.' 

In 1999, Miu was also involved in a filing along with his identical twin brother Mihai, as they filed for a restraining order against their father, Nicolae Miu Sr. 

In the filing, first reported by The Sun, they cited 'numerous instances' of physical abuse at the hands of their father, and testified that their father 'spied' on Mihai and was caught 'lurking outside his home.' 

The brothers claimed to be 'really afraid' of him.

In response, Nicolae Sr reportedly told the court a bizarre story about how the 'KGB has a plot aimed to 'get him' through his son.'

The restraining order was upheld, and Nicolae Sr's appeal was rejected. He died less than 18 months later aged 75. 

With no brushes with the law until the stabbing in July 2022, Miu would often take to social media to rant, including numerous transphobic remarks. 

In one post, reported by The Sun, he wrote: 'The entire world is a very confusing world latest...boys dressing like girls, fake lips, fake boobs, fake food fake everything!

'Boys using girls bathrooms....is that supposed to be our new the stipple of freedom?

'Men not respecting their women counterparts because of a lack of upbringing is very concerning.... children not respecting their parents is also very concerning....and yes not respecting God is the most concerning to me!' 

Although he often shared posts on weapons and the Second Amendment, Miu had no other brushes with the law until the fateful day on the river. 

During the first week of trial on April 1, the court reviewed a video that captured the intense moments leading up to and during the stabbing.

Miu was seen aggressively approaching the tubers, including the person recording, as they heckled him and laughed at him - telling him to 'walk away.'

The twenty-somethings reportedly approached Miu first, however, after spotting him chatting to a group of teenagers who looked 'uncomfortable,' as he was allegedly asking for the numbers of 'young girls.'

A woman then approached Miu ordering him to go away from the group, while one of the boys shouted 'he was looking for little girls.'

The video then showed the group push Miu down into the water repeatedly and hit him while he scrambled to get up.

Members of the group then began to shout: 'He hit a woman?'

The woman clutched her side in shock as blood began to pour out, and it became apparent that she had been stabbed.

The DA's Office said that there was 'enough blood in the river that water turned a red tint in places.'

Video then showed the chilling moment another member of the group stumbled into the river as a pool of red water emerged around him.

Chaos ensued as the group quickly dispersed. The cameraman screamed 'this isn't real' as more blood stained the water.

The distressing footage then suddenly cut out.

When the stabbing unfolded, Miu's 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.