Star Tribune
Alina Hernandez, mother of Stillwater boy killed on Apple River, testifies on day two of Miu trial
The last time she saw her son Isaac Schuman alive, Alina Hernandez put sunscreen on his ears and told him to go have fun with his friends on the Apple River, the Stillwater woman tearfully recalled Tuesday morning in court.
Hernandez’s testimony came on the second day of the murder trial of Nicolae Miu, the 54-year-old Prior Lake man charged with fatally stabbing Schuman and injuring four others when he pulled a knife during an argument between tubers on the Apple River July 30, 2022.
Hernandez said she was enjoying coffee on her deck with her sister-in-law when Isaac asked if he could go tubing. She said yes, but then told him she was planning to ask him to go to the airport to pick up her husband Donny Hernandez.
“He said ‘I can pick dad up,'” Hernandez told the court, “And I said, ‘No, just go have fun with your friends on the river.”
It was just a few hours later that Hernandez got a call from one of Isaac’s friends telling her about the stabbing. She and Donny quickly drove to the spot on the Apple River where emergency crews were still helping the stabbing victims. Hernandez said she saw an ambulance when they arrived and she ran to it thinking that it was treating her son, only to learn that it was another stabbing victim. Then she saw a group of people performing CPR on a person laying on the riverbank, and she recognized her son’s hair.
She ran to the river but saw that he was already gone.
“When you got to Isaac, was it clear he was already deceased?” asked St. Croix County District Attorney Karl E. Anderson.
“Yes,” said Hernandez.
The trial before St. Croix County Circuit Court judge R. Michael Waterman is expected to last two weeks. Miu faces a charge of first-degree intentional homicide in Schuman’s death, and four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the stabbings of Rhyley Mattison, A.J. Martin, Dante Carlson, and Tony Carlson.
Miu, who plead not guilty and has argued that he was acting in self-defense, could be sent to prison for life if convicted.
Grace Barcelow, center, a conservation specialist for Hennepin County, and Rachel Dunlap, Minnesota GreenCorps member, talk with Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church’s John Daniels about how to effectively use less salt to clear sidewalks. (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
About 67 bodies of water in Minnesota already have dangerous levels of chloride and 75 more are nearing the danger zone, according to the MPCA. Salt also infiltrates groundwater, the source of most drinking water in the state.
This winter the West Metro Water Alliance is focusing on faith-based organizations, which are some of the biggest users of salt to melt ice in parking lots and on sidewalks so parishioners can make it to services.
John Daniels, a volunteer at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, signed up for a consultation to learn more about how to use less salt and better protect the environment. His church has a snow removal contractor, but Daniels helps make sure the sidewalks are clear on busy days.
“It makes a lot of sense to me,” Daniels said of the information Barcelow and Rachel Dunlap, a MPCA GreenCorps member shared with him on a recent frigid morning. “We want to use best practices, whenever we can.”
Some key takeaways from the consultation included how little salt is needed to melt ice — roughly one granule per 3 square inches, or about a coffee cup for 10 sidewalk squares.
He said a phoenix was chosen for the display for its typical interpretation as a symbol of rebirth, transformation and self-determination, especially with the new year approaching. The mythical bird is also surrounded by black cranes with crescent moons, which “reinforces the power of intention and renewal.”
“So we took all of that together and we found it pretty inspiring, and we wanted to share that with the great state of Minnesota,” he said.
When asked, Sion declined to say how many members are part of his congregation. But he said the group organizes a series of meetings to discuss current events “in the Satanic world, so to speak,” along with board game nights, craft days and charitable endeavors – “real dark stuff,” he joked.
“We do good in the world,” he said. “We do things like charity drives a couple times a year to benefit things like [homelessness].”
Newgate, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, takes in vehicles donated by the public and gives them a new life. Many are resold at car auctions, but since 1997, one to two are given away free each month through the Wheels for Women program. Over the years, Newgate has given away about 770 cars, minivans and SUVs through the program.
But that is not nearly enough to meet the demand, said program coordinator Tyla Pream, noting the school gets 100 to 200 applications a month for the free cars. Applications are available on Newgate’s website.
“There is a massive need,” Pream said.
In 2019, a handful of dealers came alongside Newgate at Christmas and donated additional vehicles to Wheels for Women to reduce the waiting list. Over the years, the December giveaway has grown beyond vehicles to also include gift cards for gas, restaurants, and the Mall of America, plus car seats and even beds for families who need them. This year, the school had Christmas trees for anybody who wanted one, and decorated the vehicles with big red bows, just like the ones you see in commercials.
The annual giveaway has become a quasi-holiday at Newgate, inducing tears from both those who give and receive.
“This is my favorite day of the year,” said Pream, who was a little misty-eyed as she gave Watts a big hug.
