Apple River stabbing trial: Key players in Nicolae Miu's trial

SOMERSET, Wis. (FOX 9) - The trial of Nicolae Miu, the man accused of the fatal 2022 stabbing on the Apple River, began on April 1. Here's a look at the key players in the trial. 

Nicolae Miu, 54, is facing charges of first-degree intentional homicide for the death of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and multiple counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide for his alleged role in the stabbings on July 30, 2022. 

WATCH LIVE: How to watch Nicolae Miu's trial

Here are the key players in the case. This list will be updated as the trial progresses. 

Nicolae Miu

Miu is the defendant. The now-54-year-old man is a mechanical engineer from Prior Lake, Minnesota. He has been in jail since the stabbing. He claims self-defense. 

RELATED: Apple River stabbing suspect: Who is Nicolae Miu?

Sondra Miu

Nicolae Miu's ex-wife. She filed for divorce in March 2024. She was tubing with him on the day of the stabbing and told authorities her husband had a knife in his pocket. She was the 14th witness to testify in Miu's trial. 

Isaac Schuman

Isaac Shuman is the 17-year-old victim who was killed in the stabbing. He is fondly remembered by friends and loved ones. 

Ryhley Mattison

Ryhley Mattison is one of four surviving stab victims. She spoke to FOX 9 from her hospital bed in the days that followed the stabbing. She was the 11th witness in the trial, testifying on Wednesday, April 3. 

A.J. Martin

A.J. Martin was stabbed on the Apple River and badly injured. He was the 12th person to testify. He testified on April 3, describing his gruesome injuries in court. 

Alexander Vang

Alexander Vang is a friend of Isaac Schuman's. He testified on the second day of the trial.

Madison Coen

Madison Coen was struck by Miu during the fight on the Apple River. She testified on the second day of the trial. 

Jawahn Cockfield

Jawahn Cockfield shot cell phone video of the entire encounter. The video runs approximately 3 minutes and 20 seconds. It will provide the jury with the critical evidence. Cockfield was good friends with Isaac. He testified on April 2, the second day of the trial, during which he broke down on the stand. 

Alina Hernandez

Alina Hernandez is Isaac Schuman's mother. She testified on the second day of the trial.

Ryan Nelson

Ryan Nelson is Isaac Schuman's friend. He testified on the first day of the trial.

Quinton Carlson

Quinton Carlson was with a group of friends tubing down the Apple River. He witnessed the fight on the river, sending his two sons over to the fight in hopes of calming the situation. His two sons, Dante and Tony, were stabbed. 

Dante Carlson

Dante Carlson, the son of Quinton Carlson, testified on the second day of the trial. He said he punched Miu after Miu hit Madison Coen. He was stabbed during the fight, as was his brother, Tony Carlson.

Anthony ‘Tony’ Carlson

Tony Carlson is the son of Quinton Carlson. He was stabbed on the Apple River, as was his younger brother, Dante Carlson. Tony Carlson testified on the third day of the trial. 

Landon Weyer

Landon Weyer, who was tubing with Isaac Shuman's group, testified on the second day of the trial.

Gabriella Khazraeinazmpour 

Gabriella Khazraeinazmpour was the 13th witness to testify. She was tubing with the Carlson group and called 911 the day of the fight on the river. 

Larrion Davis

Larrion Davis, a tuber on the Apple River and witness, was the 15th person to testify in the trial. He recorded some cell phone video of the Apple River incident — he was taking selfie Snapchat video as the Miu encounter was happening behind him. 

Sheena Lowell

Sheena Lowell, the 16th person to testify, was a tuber on the Apple River with the Carlson group.

Eric Von Williams

Eric Von Williams was tubing down the river with Nicolae Miu's group, but he'd met Miu the day they got to the river. He is the 17th person to testify. 

Janell Duxbury

Janell Duxbury is the 18th person to testify in the trial. She was part of the Carlson tubing group.

Andrea Baldazo

Andrea Baldazo is the 19th person to testify. She is a registered nurse out tubing with her family that day. She realized someone was hurt and then jumped to assist Isaac Schuman.

Karl Anderson and Brian Smestad

Karl Anderson and Brian Smestad are prosecuting the case. Anderson is the St. Croix County, Wisconsin, District Attorney.

Aaron Nelson and Corey Chirafisi

Aaron Nelson is a notable, local trial attorney based in Hudson, Wisconsin. Corey Chirafisi is a Madison-based attorney and notably successfully defended Kyle Rittenhouse.

Judge Michael Waterman

Judge Michael Waterman is a judge in the St. Croix County Circuit Court. He'll be presiding over Miu's trial. He teaches in the advocacy program at Mitchell-Hamline School of Law in St. Paul. 

Sheriff Scott Knudson

Sheriff Scott Knudson spoke to Miu for a short time at the scene of his arrest along the Apple River. Some of that material is suppressed because Miu was not properly informed of his rights.

Lt. Brandie Hart

Lt. Brandie Hart of the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office conducted the jailhouse interview with Miu in the hours following the stabbing. Miu's legal team attempted to toss out his statements, arguing he was not properly given access to an attorney. The trial judge rejected their claims. 

Apple River stabbing: What happened 

According to court records, the stabbing took place on the Apple River near the Sunrise Bridge in Somerset, Wisconsin, which allegedly started after Miu was apparently looking for a friend's cell phone in the river but was confronted by tubers who said he was acting sketchy. 

The encounter escalated, and he apparently punched a female on the left side of her face before Miu was punched, eventually leading to the stabbing.

Witnesses began calling 911 at 3:47 p.m. on July 30, which indicated there were potentially four or five victims with wounds to the mid to upper body. 

A 24-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minnesota, a 20-year-old and 22-year-old man from Luck, Wisconsin, and a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minnesota, were injured in the attack. But, 17-year-old Schuman died from his injuries.   

According to the criminal complaint, Miu claimed the attack was self-defense. He said he was "so fearful" for his safety, adding he wasn't sure what the people in the river were going to do to him, and "everything happened so fast."