Day 2 of Nicolae Miu's Apple River stabbing trial features emotional testimony from Isaac Schuman's mom, friends
HUDSON, Wis. — Day two of the trial for the deadly stabbing on the Apple River in Wisconsin was held Tuesday morning.
Nicolae Miu is accused of killing a teen and injuring four others in July of 2022.
The prosecution is trying to prove that Miu was the aggressor. They expect to call more than 40 witnesses to the stand.
The defense is arguing Miu stabbed the five people in self-defense.
Isaac Schuman's mother testifies
The trial began Tuesday with emotional testimony from Alina Hernandez, the mother of Isaac Schuman. Schuman, 17, was the only person to die of their injuries in the stabbing.
"Isaac had a lot of hobbies. He loved his family and traveling. We love to travel. And he had his own business, and he had recently started. He detailed boats and cars," Hernandez said. "He loved to golf."
Hernandez says she was having lunch with her sister-in-law in downtown Stillwater when she got a call from one of her son's friends, who was "screaming that Isaac was stabbed." She said she ran out of the restaurant, got into a vehicle and went to the scene.
Watch Alina Hernandez's testimony
She said she saw her son on the river bank with CPR being performed on him and ran to him. She said it was clear that he was dead.
Hernandez says her son hoped to go to college for engineering.
Legal expert Joe Tamburino, who's not affiliated with the case, said it was a good defense tactic to not cross-examine Hernandez.
"Also, the defense is getting the upper hand so far in this trial. They have more emotion and fire than the prosecutors," Tamburino said. "The prosecutors should have objected more to the defense opening statement because it was filled with arguments which are not proper for openings. Argument is for closings. The prosecutors better step it up today."
Jawahn Cockfield testifies
Ninteen-year-old Jawahn Cockfield, Schuman's friend and the young man who filmed the altercation, became emotional on the stand while viewing the portion of the video showing the aftermath of the stabbings.
The defense peppered Cockfield with questions about his behavior towards Miu, highlighting Cockfield's large physical stature. Cockfield stated when he first encountered Miu and asked him what he was doing near his group, Miu allegedly said he was "looking for little girls."
"He had said like a weird comment, which is why I started recording in the first place," Cockfield said.
Watch Jawahn Cockfield's testimony: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Cockfield said he recorded the first nine-second video but stopped it when Miu looked at him "really scary." He then started to record the second video about 10 seconds later.
Cockfield agreed with the defense that Miu's statement about little girls wasn't captured on tape, and he is heard in the second video saying, "I didn't have that part on camera!" But Cockfield underlined Miu was acting strange, especially when he ran up to his group and grabbed their tubes and Cockfield's leg.
The defense repeatedly asked why Cockfield chose to call Miu names. Cockfield insisted he wasn't necessarily trying to humiliate Miu.
"Any other explanation as to why you point and taunt (Miu) other than humiliate him? asked the defense.
"No," replied Cockfield.
Cockfield said he had consumed three of four beers in the first hour his group floated downriver and he was under the influence of marijuana.
Cockfield was asked if he remembered a member of his group threatening Miu that he had "10 seconds" to get away from them. Cockfield denied hearing it, then the defense played a brief clip where the threat could be heard. Cockfield said he didn't hear that threat in that clip.
The defense tried to hammer home that Cockfield didn't feel threatened by Miu since the other group of tubers came over, and that Miu's path back to his group was blocked.
Prosecutors then turned that around, showing a still where only two women are confronting Miu, with open water behind him.
Prosecutors then asked Cockfield if he was happy he recorded the confrontation, which Cockfield affirmed.
Cockfield also clarified to defense attorneys that his group was never moving towards Miu — they were simply moving with the flow of the river. Tamburino says prosecutors are dropping the ball by not pinpointing this fact.
Tamburino also noted alcohol and drug use will be important factors for the jury to consider because they impact the credibility of witnesses and their abilities to accurately recall details.
Madison Cohen testifies
Madison Cohen elected not to have her testimony recorded, which is allowed by Wisconsin state law.
Tamburino said her testimony will be crucial.
"Her testimony will be very important because it seems to be the catalyst there of all the physical confrontation," Tamburino said.
Alex Vang testifies
Alex Vang, 19, took the witness stand late Tuesday afternoon.
Vang described himself as Schuman's best friend and said the pair first met in seventh grade.
He echoed the testimonies of Ryan Nelson and Cockfield in stating his group was drinking alcohol and using marijuana during the hour to 90 minutes they had traveled downriver.
Vang told prosecutors he was scared by Miu when he ran up to them and stopped them from carrying on. He said he also heard Miu make the "little girls" comment, and he admitted he also called Miu names like "pedophile" and "predator." Vang said he wasn't proud of his behavior.
Watch Alex Vang's testimony
When the defense asked Vang if he and his friends were "humiliating" Miu before the attack, Vang said no.
"We were just calling him out," Vang said.
He said his group didn't exactly encircle Miu, but were just "standing near him."
"We were just moving down the river, going with the flow," Vang said.
The defense noted in their cross-examination that Vang had changed his claim about which hand Miu used to punch Madison Cohen between his interview with law enforcement soon after the deadly confrontation, and when he later viewed Cockfield's video.
"I was in a lot of shock and there were a lot of details I didn't process in the moment," Vang said.
He said after Miu gave Cohen "a pretty good punch," Miu was "hopped on" by members of Cohen's group "in retaliation."
"I knew (Miu) was getting hit," Vang said.
Vang said he didn't see Miu's knife, but he realized "within five seconds there were people stabbed."
"There was blood all over the water," Vang said.
Vang became emotional when prosecutors brought up the moment he realized Schuman had been stabbed.
"When he fell into the water he was holding the left side of the chest. When I picked him up I noticed he had a huge gash in his chest that was bleeding out," Vang said. "I decided I needed to hold pressure on the wound and drag him to the shore."
Unlike Cockfield, Vang admitted to prosecutors that he indeed could hear the "10 seconds" comment made early on in the group's interaction with Miu, but Vang said he didn't know who said it.
Quinton Carlson testifies
The next person to take the witness seat was 50-year-old Quinton Carlson. He was with family and friends on the river that day to celebrate his birthday, a tradition he said started six years earlier by his late wife.
Carlson volunteered to the prosection that his group used to tube down Wisconsin's Namekagon River, but issues with alcohol led him to cut down on the amount of drinks brought along for the ride, and the amount of people he invited. He said he didn't drink that day, but other members of his 11-person group did.
Carlson said he owned a bar, where his sons regularly de-escalate fights.
He told prosecutors his group was about 100-150 feet away from Schuman's group when he heard their cries for help. He said he also noticed Miu was acting in an "aggressive and drunken manner."
"I have a lot of experience observing drunk people. (Miu) certainly fit the bill," Carlson said.
He said Miu "charged the teens," preventing their tubes from going downriver. He asked his sons Dante and Tony to go check it out.
Carlson told police in the aftermath of the attacks that he was initially worried about Miu's safety, believing "if those boys get off the tubes they're going to beat the grapes out of this guy."
Carlson told prosecutors he didn't see Miu strike Cohen, but he did she his son Dante strike Miu, a move he says was out of character for him.
He said after the attacks, Cohen came over to him to say Miu had punched her.
"Maddie's eye was red and swollen…her cheek was all puffed out, it was clear that she was struck," Carlson said.
His sons then came back and said they had been stabbed.
"It erupted into chaos and we tried to get the kids to the river bank," Carlson said. "It was a matter of seconds and the whole thing changed."
The defense started their cross-examination highlighting the alcohol consumption of Carlson's group, showing a group photo were several members were chugging beers. Carlson insisted there wasn't an emphasis on alcohol on this river trip.
"They were having fun," Carlson said.
The cross-examination became increasingly hostile when the prosecutor repeatedly tried to contradict Carlson's memory, highlighting his confusion over the flow of the river.
Carlson told the defense he heard the teens call Miu a "pedophile," but he "didn't give it much credence at the time."
"I just saw a situation and didn't want it to escalate," Carlson said.
The defense and Carlson went on to dispute whether Cohen punched or slapped Miu, and which hand was used, before he was dismissed.
Dante Carlson testifies
Dante Carlson, Quinton Carlson's 21-year-old son, was next to take the stand. He said he works as a cook and was 20 at the time of the attacks.
Carlson told prosecutors he heard the teens yelling for help and went over to investigate "as a Good Samaritan."
They told him Miu was "looking for little girls." He said the teens looked like "children to him," and he felt he needed to defend them.
He said he went to get Miu's side of the story and told Miu the teens' insults "didn't matter" and he needed to move away.
Carlson then saw Miu punch Cohen and he immediately punched Miu in retaliation, causing Miu to fall into the water. He then yelled "You never hit a woman!"
He said his brother Tony yelled for the group to stop fighting.
"I remember (Tony) pushing me away from the commotion," he said.
Seconds later, Carlson said Miu walked over to him and stabbed him in the lower abdomen. He then stood up and showed his wound to the jury.
When the defense took over questioning, attorney Aaron Nelson immediately disputed Carlson's claim that he only drank two beers that day.
A test taken at the hospital hours after the deadly encounter showed Carlson's blood alcohol content level was .119.
He then admitted on the stand he also consumed at least two shots of butterscotch schnapps with strangers at a campsite near the riverbank before the attack, and he never disclosed that to investigators because they had only asked him about beer.
Nelson went on to imply that Carlson's drunkenness led him to confuse Cohen for Ryhley Mattison when talking to police after the attack and that he mistakenly told them Mattison fell after being hit.
Carlson fired back that he was given pain pills in the helicopter ride to the hospital which may have confused him.
Nelson asked Carlson why he felt it necessary to strike Miu two more times as he struggled in the water, and Carlson admitted he likely did so out of anger.
"I feared for everyone else's safety," Carlson said.
Nelson ended his cross-examination by pointing out that Carlson kept holding his beer as he struck Miu three times when people who launch into a fight typically ask someone first to "hold my beer."
Tamburino said Carlson's testimony about using force against Miu after he struck Cohen is beneficial for the prosecution, and they should've honed in on it more. He also applauded Carlson for admitting to things he had to admit to, and for handling the cross-examination better than his father.
Landon Weyer testifies
The final witness to take the stand Tuesday was Landon Weyer, a member of Schuman's group.
He told the prosecutor he drank a couple beers, had a couple shots of vodka and smoked marijuana while on the river.
Weyer said he also heard Miu mention something about "little girls," and Miu grabbed him, causing him to bail out of his tube to get away.
He said he started insulting Miu after the Carlson group came over because he felt more comfortable.
Weyer said he saw Miu strike "a blonde woman," and he saw Miu get punched and fall into the water. Seconds later, he saw someone holding their wounded stomach, describing the sight as "very traumatizing."
The defense attorney's cross-examination also highlighted that Weyer, like Cockfield, was a large football player, and questioned why two future college football players would find Miu threatening.
"I was 17, I was scared, he was bigger than me," Weyer said.
Day three of the Miu trial begins Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
Day one recap
Among the first witnesses was Nelson, the best friend of Schuman. Nelson said he was positive that Miu started the fight when he hit one of the victims.
During an intense cross-examination, defense attorneys were quick to challenge Nelson's memory of events.
The prosecution also showed two cellphone video clips, less than four minutes in total, detailing much of what happened that day on the Apple River.
In the first video, which is just nine seconds long, someone is heard saying Miu was "looking for little girls." The defense was quick to note there were not little girls near him in the video.
In another three-and-a-half minute clip, Miu can be seen running toward the group of tubers and underlying audio can be heard indicating Miu was asked more than 20 times by the groups to go away.
Then the physical confrontation begins, with pushing and shoving and, ultimately, the stabbings.
Tamburino said now it's up to both sides to call witnesses that will help give these clips context.
"What they're also going to point out is what led up to parts of the video," Tamburino said. "You see at the beginning when the video is played, all we see is Mr. Miu basically running toward these young men and we don't know why, and that's where witness testimony will be very important so it can explain, where did he come from? Why was he coming near the young men? What was he saying, what was he doing? All of that's not on the video."
WCCO will have live coverage throughout the trial, which you can watch via CBS News Minnesota, Pluto TV or the CBS News app on your phone or connected TV.
