Star Tribune
Apple River stabbing trial, a day-by-day recap
The murder trial of 54-year-old Nicolae Miu for a violent encounter along Wisconsin’s Apple River that left a teenager dead and four others injured is drawing to a close, with closing arguments underway Wednesday morning. Miu faces five felony counts and a possible life sentence in the death of Isaac Michael Schuman, a 17-year-old from Stillwater who died of stab wounds.
Dozens of witnesses who were at the recreational area — a popular summer spot for tubing — on July 30, 2022 saw the fight and its aftermath. Miu has pleaded not guilty.
Here is a recap of each day’s testimony in the nine-day trial.
Monday, April 1
A graphic video of the chaotic river encounter was shown in court on the opening day of trial. The 3-minute, 25-second cell phone clip quickly emerged as key to both the defense and the prosecution. A jury of 14 people — eight men, six women — were selected.
Tuesday, April 2
Schuman’s friend Jawahn Cockfield, who captured the cell phone video, testified that he started filming to record a stranger who was “looking kind of suspicious.”
Schuman’s mother Alina Hernandez also took the stand, tearfully testifying that he was already dead by the time she was able to rush to the scene from her home in Stillwater.
Wednesday, April 3
Miu’s former wife Sondra testified that her ex-husband was a peaceful person, and that she saw him knocked to the ground after he left their group in search of a friend’s missing phone. It wasn’t uncommon for him to carry a pocketknife, she said.
Stabbing victim A.J. Martin took the stand testifying that he was certain he would die. He was left holding his own intestines, and went on to be hospitalized for 27 days. Another victim testified that she thought she’d been punched before looking down to find her torso sliced.
Thursday, April 4
Registered nurse Andrea Beldazo shared her attempts to save Schuman, as she heard laughter turn to screaming among people in his group.
Witness Janell Duxbury testified that Miu punched her friend in the face when she approached the group and yelled at Miu to leave them alone. Soon after, she testified, “chaos and yelling broke out.”
Friday, April 5
Miu’s longtime friend, Ernesto Torres-Chaguez, testified that he asked Miu to bring a pocket knife to cut twine used to hold their inner tubes together, and that he doubted Miu would hurt anyone. Another in their group said she told police that she saw Miu toss something toward the riverbank after the fight and that he appeared scared.
Monday, April 8
The defense argued that the teens provoked the attack when they confronted Miu. Several in Schuman’s group testified they heard Miu say he was “looking for little girls,” but those comments were not captured on video or reported to police, the defense said.
Tuesday, April 9
Miu took the stand. He acknowledged he lied to police about whether he had a knife when he got into the fight. He said he suspected the group had found the lost phone, and that the young people began surrounding him and calling him names.
He said he felt panicked as the group of young people drew closer and called him a pedophile.
The University of Minnesota has postponed a scheduled Tuesday night lecture from infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci after pro-Palestinian protests that included some protesters barricading Morrill Hall the day before.
On Monday night, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the building, which houses the Minneapolis campus’ administrative offices, as Students for a Democratic Society used tied-up patio furniture to form giant barricades blocking the building’s large front windows and its entrances. The protesters demanded the U divest from companies with ties to Israel. At least 11 of the protesters were arrested.
The university decided to postpone Fauci’s lecture set for Tuesday night because of “unexpected and complicated incidents” over the past day, university spokesman Jake Rickersaid in an email.
“Given the importance of this lecture and the unexpected and complicated incidents that occurred on campus in the past 24 hours, University officials determined it best to reschedule to ensure a great experience for attendees and our University community,” Ricker said.
All tickets for the lecture will be voided and information about the rescheduled date will be posted later, the university said in an online post about the postponement. Pre-paid parking will be automatically refunded, the university added.
Additional pro-Palestinian protests took place Tuesday afternoon at the university in front of Coffman Memorial Union. The protests prompted university officials to temporarily close down at least a dozen buildings in a Tuesday alert. Those included: Coffman Union, Weisman Museum, Hasselmo Hall, Ford Hall, Vincent Murphy Hall, Tate Lab, Morrill Hall, Northrop Auditorium, Johnston Hall, Walter Library, Smith Hall, and Kolthoff Hall. All other East Bank campus buildings were switched to keycard access only, according to the alert.
An anti-Fauci rally had also been planned by conservative group Action 4 Liberty to coincide with the lecture at the university, but that was moved after the lecture was canceled.
Star Tribune
Aunt IDs 3-year-old who was fatally shot in Minneapolis home, speaks about what happened
A close relative on Tuesday identified the 3-year-old boy who was fatally shot this week in his family’s northeast Minneapolis apartment a day earlier.
Woods said police have told the family that Jajuan got ahold of the gun and it went off.
“Someone left a loaded gun [in the home,” said Woods, who has started an online fundraiser for her sister, Charlotte Williams. “He got ahold of it thinking it was a toy.”
Woods said her nephew, who went by Junior, “loved trucks and dinosaurs. He was just so silly and goofy. He was a momma’s boy.”
Jajuan suffered a gunshot wound to the top of the head, a source with knowledge of the incident told the Star Tribune. Paramedics rushed the toddler to HCMC, where he died a short time later.
Woods said she did not know who owned the gun.
Police spokesman Trevor Folke said Tuesday evening there have been no arrests and had no update to share in the “active and ongoing investigation.”
Bergman is championing efforts to boost literacy and invest in early childhood programming, and getting there, she said, requires financial sustainability, and that may mean closings and mergers. She attended last week’s finance committee meeting — as she’s done on a regular basis — and described the mention of “opportunity” as another rosy way of avoiding hard truths.
The district is spread too thin, she said. Some schools could take more students. Yet in others, class sizes are huge and caseloads so large that educators can’t build relationships with students and families, she said.
“I just fundamentally believe, and it’s been one of the objectives of my campaign, to be someone out in the community talking about this moment, listening to reactions, and listening for the places where families could get on board with the possibility of their beloved school having to close,” she said.
A way to get there, Bergman said, is by consolidating buildings, and in turn, expanding programming — perhaps not far from the school left behind.
Callahan argues that the mere mention of closings is causing families to leave the district: “This is not something that should be talked about so flippantly,” she said.
She said she would entertain the idea only if there also are plans to stabilize and recruit students, plus answers to three questions: How much money is being saved by closing a building? How many students will be retained if the school closes? And how many new students have to enroll to keep it open?
