Wednesday marked the third day of a jury trial for a man accused of stabbing multiple people on the Apple River in Wisconsin two summers ago, leaving a 17-year-old dead.

Nicolae Miu, 54, of Prior Lake, is charged with homicide, attempted homicide and battery for the July 2022 incident, which left four adults injured and killed 17-year-old Isaac Schuman of Stillwater. Miu pleaded not guilty in September 2022.

Judge R. Michael Waterman is overseeing the court proceedings, which saw several of the stabbing victims and Miu’s ex-wife, who was there that day, take the stand on Wednesday.

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The incident involved a group of teenagers, Miu, and a group of adults passing by in their tubes on the river.

Court documents show when Miu first spoke with investigators, he told them he had a snorkel and was looking for a cellphone that went into the river, telling police a group attacked him and put him in “self-defense mode.”

Prosecutors say Miu pulled a knife from his pocket and lashed out at a group during a confrontation. Investigators allege Miu was bothering a group of teenagers on their tubes when court papers say another group on tubes stopped to help out.

The defense has told jurors that Miu was trying to protect himself during the encounter, saying the confrontation was 13-on-one and that Miu’s actions were in self-defense.

Anthony Carlson was the first to take the stand on Wednesday. He was part of the group of adults who heard the teenagers calling for help and went to inspect after his father, Quinton Carlson, told him to. Quinton took the stand on Tuesday and recounted his version of events.

Ryhley Mattison, who was also a part of the adult group, took the stand second. She recounted what happened to the prosecution before cross-examination from the defense; she was stabbed in the side by Miu after she approached him concerned about the group of teenagers, but said she doesn’t remember the entire incident.

Mattison admitted to being intoxicated at the time of the incident and said she was unsure if some of the lapses in memory were from that or from being stabbed.

She broke down crying during her testimony after the prosecution showed images of her lying on the riverbank, bleeding from the stab wound.

“I just remember seeing Nic’s face blank, not lunging at me … but kind of poking at me,” she said.

Another person with the adult group, A.J. Martin, testified next. Martin explained that he pushed Miu after his friend was allegedly hit by Miu.

“I was going to try to keep him down for another second and tell everyone to back up and we could have figured out what was going on. As I reached down to push him in shoulders, he reached up, and I guess, I don’t know if you call it a stab, he got me with the knife,” Martin said.

“I’m going to die today,” he recalled thinking after seeing his intestines in his hands.

Gabriella “Gabby” Khazraeinazmpour also testified as a part of the group of adults who stopped to intervene in the situation.

During Khazraeinazmpour’s testimony, she admitted to consuming alcohol during the day but didn’t recall how much. She said her group stopped when they overheard a group of kids calling Miu a “pedophile.”

The defense attorney asked where Khazraeinazmpour was in relation to Miu during the incident and questioned her statements to law enforcement following the stabbing.

The issue of privileged conversations between Miu and his ex-wife, Sandy Miu, was debated prior to her testimony. Judge Waterman decided that private conversations between Miu and his ex-wife (who were married at the time) that occured just after the stabbing are not to be discussed in court, however, conversations between the two while Miu was in jail are allowed to be questioned.

Sandy testified next, and the defense asked her if she had any opinion on Miu’s character for peacefulness, to which she responded, “Nic’s a very peaceful person.”

Three other witnesses also testified Wednesday afternoon before court adjourned for the day.

The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday morning.

Stay up to date with the trial, which will be streamed live on KSTP’s website and mobile app once the judge is seated each day.

For 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS complete coverage on the Apple River stabbing, CLICK HERE.