How Wisconsin HVAC engineer Nicolae Miu loved his dog and his guns - including ... trends now
Before he became known as a frenzied stabber who attacked a group of teenagers on the Apple River on what would have been a fun day out with friends, Nicolae Miu was a 'peaceful' man who loved his engineering job and spent most of his time thinking about his dog.
That's what a trial heard this week as Miu was convicted of the murder of Isaac Shuman, a 17-year-old who was among the group tormenting Miu. They labeled him a pedophile, insisting he'd been taking photographs of girls in their swimwear.
The man who gave them that idea admitted at Miu's trial that he'd made it up in the heat of the moment.
Convinced he was under attack, Miu lashed out - stabbing five teenagers, including Shuman and a teenage girl, before tossing the knife. Some of the victims' wounds were horrific. One lifted his shirt to show the huge torso scar that Miu inflicted when he sliced him from ribs to his pelvis.
In Miu's defense, his estranged wife Sondra testified that he was not violent, and had been acting in self-defense. She filed for divorce a month before the trial began, citing the stress of it as the cause of the marriage breakdown.
In old social media posts, Miu - a Romanian native who arrived in the US as a teenager - he gave a glimpse into their marriage with photos of the handgun she bought him for Valentine's Day.
Nicolae Miu, an engineer convicted of the homicide of a 17 year-old boy during a tubing argument in July 2022, is a 'peaceful man' who loves his dog, his ex-wife claims
Stabbing victim A.J. Martin shows his scar on the third day of Miu's trial
The three-inch Swiss army knife that was used by Miu to stab the youngsters in 2022
Miu tossed the knife onto the river bank in a panic after the frenzied attack
In divorce filings obtained by DailyMail.com, Miu was previously married to a woman named Teodora, who he shared a son, Alex, with in 2005.
The couple divorced in 2009, and court records show that he and his mother moved to Bucharest, Romania at the end of the marriage while Nicolae remained in Minnesota.
He worked at Ritchie Engineering, and earned $7,250 a month, according to the divorce filing.
Miu then remarried in 2011 with his colleague at the engineering factory, who testified in his defense at his murder trial this week.
She described him as a 'peaceful' man who was known to help neighbors fixing things, often with his 'utility knife' that was used in the attack.
Sondra divorced him last month, but insisted that she still loves him.
In one post from 2019, Miu shared an image of a handgun and ammo inside a heart-shaped box that his wife had bought for him as a gift
Miu's estranged wife Sondra, who filed for divorce a month before the trial began
Miu would often share right-wing memes and jokes on his social media, including memes of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton behind bars
Miu made no secret of his love of weapons online, including posts claiming that 'guns don't kill people, people kill people'
Miu didn't have kids but thought of his dog as his 'baby'. Another glimpse into his love of guns is revealed through his Facebook post
Prosecutors also claimed that Miu was drunk during the attack, however Sondra insisted he only had one or two beers, and was only a 'moderate drinker' who would only drink alcohol occasionally.
She added that Nicolae has a quadruple bypass surgery in 2020.
While described as a peaceful man, during his marriage Miu would frequently share right-wing jokes on his since-deleted Facebook account.
Archived images from his old Facebook showed he would often share his views on weapons and his love of the Second Amendment.
In one post from 2019, Miu shared an image of a handgun and ammo inside a heart-shaped box that his wife had bought for him as a gift.
