HUDSON, Wis. — The trial for Nicolae Miuthe man accused of killing a teenager and stabbing four others on the Apple River in July 2022, has begun in Wisconsin.
Miu, 54, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in Isaac Schuman’s death and attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the stabbings of Ryhley Mattison, AJ Martin, Dante Carlson and Tony Carlson. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in September 2022.
Miu is being represented in the case by attorneys Corey Chirafisi and Aaron Nelson. Thus far in the trial, they’ve contended Miu was acting in self-defense. The prosecution aims to prove Miu was the aggressor.
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Corey Chirafisi
Chirafisi has been practicing law in Wisconsin for more than 25 years, starting his career as an assistant district attorney for Kenosha County. He’s been named a Super Lawyer every year since 2011, per his firm’s website.
Perhaps Chirafisi’s most high-profile case was his defense of Kyle Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two of them, on Aug. 25, 2020, during a protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake Jr. The jury acquitted Rittenhouse of all charges after he claimed he shot all three men in self-defense.
Chirafisi’s law firm operates out of Madison, Wisconsin.
Aaron Nelson
Nelson earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1996. He now operates a law office out of Hudson, Wisconsin.
According to his website, Nelson has earned seven Martin Hanson Memorial awards, more than any other attorney in Wisconsin. The awards are given “for not guilty verdicts in Wisconsin homicide cases,” the website says. Nelson, like Chirafisi, has been a Super Lawyer every year since 2011.
Nelson handled the opening statement for the defense in Miu’s trial. He repeatedly tried to suggest to the jury that Miu stabbed the other tubers in self-defense because he feared for his life. He described Miu as an “intelligent” and “peaceful” man who was standing in the river with “13 drunk, angry strangers” who provoked, surrounded and attacked Miu.
“When people attacked Miu, she responded,” Nelson said.