Apple River Stabbing Incident: Chaos, Lies, and Consequences

Nikolai's violent attack on teens, sparked by inappropriate behavior, resulted in one death and multiple injuries, raising questions of self-defense.

### The Apple River Stabbing Incident: Chaos and Conflicting Accounts
* 😱 On July 30, 2022, a group of teenagers swimming in the Apple River confronted a 52-year-old man, Nikolai Miu, for allegedly **making inappropriate comments**, leading to a **physical altercation**.
* 🔪 After being pushed over by the teens, Nikolai pulled out a knife and **fatally stabbed 17-year-old Isaac Schuman**, injuring four others, including AJ Martin, whose **intestines were reportedly protruding from his body**.
* 📞 Panic ensued as witnesses called 911, stating, “**A guy just stabbed three people**,” while police rushed to the scene but found that Nikolai had fled.
* 🚨 Witnesses described the chaotic scene, with one stating, “I saw a guy just **stab some poor boy in the stomach**,” highlighting the **urgency and horror** of the moment.
* 👮 Nikolai was later apprehended by police after a witness threatened him with a baseball bat, but he denied responsibility for the stabbings, claiming he was **attacked first**.
* 🗣 Conflicting accounts emerged from witnesses, with some describing Nikolai as a **predator** while others claimed he was **defending himself against an aggressive group of teenagers**.
* ⚖ Investigators faced a complex case, as they needed to determine whether Nikolai acted in **self-defense** or if he had committed **murder**, with the potential for **serious legal consequences**.
* 📜 As the investigation unfolded, detectives interviewed multiple witnesses, revealing **disturbing secrets** and leading to a **twisted conclusion** about the events that transpired that day.

### The Downfall of Nikolai: A Tragic Stabbing Incident and Its Aftermath
* 🚨 The scene was chaotic as witnesses observed the police arriving, and many were left wondering about **Nikolai's involvement in the incident** that led to the stabbings.
* 💔 Reflecting on the past, a witness expressed regret, stating, "**If I knew then what I know now**, we would not have gone down that river," highlighting the tragic outcome of the day.
* 🗣 Testimonies revealed that Nikolai was accused of **harassing a group of teens**, asking for **explicit pictures**, which escalated into a **violent confrontation**.
* 🔪 During the altercation, Nikolai allegedly retaliated by **stabbing multiple individuals** after being confronted, leading to **severe injuries and one fatality**.
* 📞 The police gathered extensive evidence against Nikolai, including witness statements that **painted him as the aggressor**, despite his claims of **self-defense**.
* 🧑 In court, the prosecution presented autopsy reports detailing the stab wounds inflicted on the victims, which were classified as **severe and life-threatening**.
* ⚖ Ultimately, on July 21, 2023, a jury found Nikolai guilty of **first-degree intentional homicide** and multiple counts of **attempted homicide**, leading to his **life sentence**.
* 📅 Nikolai's sentencing on July 30, 2022, reflected the **gravity of his actions**, as he faced **significant prison time** for the lives he endangered and the tragedy that unfolded that day.

so you left with just you and your husband, John, that came. No, Nick, Nick, yes. Okay. Did you see him the whole time he was off his tube? Yes, I did. And I could see him. He was over there, and then he came back over, and then I just heard screaming. This is real. This is real. Oh my god. Do Nick know to carry? Did he ever carry a weapon with him? He had a knife in his pocket. Well, we got some stuff to work out. Okay, okay, 'cause it was more than just some injuries. It was a pretty serious event that happened. Tell us, please help us. This guy's a pedophile, and he won't leave us alone. He just started everyone. And so how many people had H? I was told at least three. No, this is not happening right now. Happening right now. A DI just stabbed three people. A man's intestines are falling out of his SP. On July 30th, 2022, a group of teens swimming in the Apple River noticed a 52-year-old man allegedly making

inappropriate comments towards one of the females in the group was looking for a little girl. You looking for a little girl. A physical altercation between the man and the teens ensued. However, things would quickly turn for the worst because after being pushed over by the teenagers, the man pulls out a knife. And shortly after getting to his feet, the man goes to attack Nikolai Miu. The man with the knife would go on to take the life of 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and injure four others in the process. One of the victims, AJ Martin, was cut so bad said he had intestines protruding from his body. Panic erupted. Blood stained the river, and witnesses flooded County police with 911 [Music] calls. Hello, hello, where are you? My God, no, this is not happening, no, this is not happening, this is not now. Oh my God, please, please app Riv, can you I don't yep, we got help coming. Are you there with the yes, we're here. 911, where the address of your emergency? Hi, I'm at I'm at Apple R um

We're on the river, and a guy just stabbed three people. A man's intestines are falling out of his body. Okay, stop, stop, stop right now. What's going on? I'm on Apple River, Apple River in Wisconsin. Police rush to the scene, but the damage had already been done, and the attacker, Nikolai, had fled the scene. The race was now on to apprehend Nikolai and determine what caused him to commit such a horrifying act. This footage has never been seen; viewer discretion is advised. I'll peek it this way if you peek it this way. Yep, they're doing CPR right now. If we could launch a boat here and get up there, that'd be awesome. Went under the woods at the initial location, a quart mile up River from the 64 Bridge. Did he go up on the North or South Bank? South Bank. He went up right here. They don't know. No one knows. Okay, that's... They said this region. They don't know that. Okay, are you three all witnesses, friends of one of the victims?

or all of them got okay. I just saw the video that the dude okay. You haven't, you didn't see that in person happen though, no. Okay, we were floating, we caught up to those that group of kids, and the guy was harassing them, and so I wanted to stop it before I was worried they were going to hurt that guy. Okay, you know, I was worried they were going to gang up on him. She went over there to try and diffuse it. He punched her and then started, he just, yeah, he just started stabbing everyone. And then the other group tried to stop him, and what'd he look like? He was like probably this big, 250 lb, beard. He was wearing a chain. He like, he was kind of bald, stereotypy Russ, that's what he looked like. First saw him, he had scuba goggles, yes, clear goggles, scuba goggles on. Okay, now that the officers have a clear description of this man, all hands go on Deck to find him immediately. As such, officers send up multiple thermal drones and shut down

the area until his capture. The Hunt is on to find this ramped killer. I'll turn around at the stop sign up here. Hey, you guys need people to start roaming the perimeter on this road. A 30-year-old white male in black shorts. Do you have the picture? You guys not yet? I'm waiting on the picture. White male about 30 years old. I went down to the campground down here at the river. I notified all of them to get off the river. Okay, what's his name? We uh, I don't, we have a name. I don't think we do yet either. Just start roaming this. However, it wouldn't take long to find Nikolai as a witness noticed him and threatened him with a baseball bat to wait for officers. Our current witness says that the male appears to be wearing a camel-colored shirt. Back, okay, I'm sorry. Yeah, being detained at this point. Okay, yes, you dispatch. Believe we have the suspect detained. Believe we detain at the No. No weapons, nothing like that. A possible. What's your name? Nick. Nick what?

Nick me okay. Yeah, I think that's it. He's got averch silver Block Chain. Like I said, sir, you're just detained at this point, okay? We'll explain anything in a second here. I'm still coming. I'm justd might. The guy with the baseball bat was just responding to the to the S. Can you step out for a second? We just want to check you out. Are you injured at all? No, other than my butt. Very injured and scratch. Your butt's injured? Well, from sliding all over the stones. Oh, the Rocks, yeah. And my hand. Take a look at you. Now that police have Nikolai apprehended, they can bring him to the station and begin investigating what happened. However, as Nikolai is about to leave the lake, he says something that would change this investigation completely. Somebody, I hear somebody got stabbed. Um, can I've H the description? Yes, you do. All right, yep. So we're working through that now. Did you see that fight on the river? I've heard about it. You heard about it? Yeah, and I've seen

people gather around. Okay, all right. And I went over to talk to see if somebody saw anything, but that's about it. Okay, our whole group was pretty interested in finding out what happened. Okay, and that's your whole group over there? Yeah. Did you see anybody injured? No, you didn't see anybody injured. Did you see anybody fighting? I heard people screaming at each other, yet screaming in anger or screaming in pain. Do you know everybody's drunk? So, I don't know. I can't tell the do, but I would say I don't just screaming, you know, calling each other names. That's seen that all day. We've all been drinking a lot. I'm sure they're drunk. I'm sure they're kids being kids. Not only does Nikolai completely deny that he was responsible for the stabbings, but he pretends that no one even got hurt. The video recordings from the stabbing clearly show the attacker's face as well as the chain Nikolai is wearing right now. Regardless of what happened during

the altercation. The facts that he feels the need to pretend to be completely innocent will downplay any of his future statements. Regardless, Nikolai will be transported to the St. Croix Sheriff's Office, where he will undergo an intense interrogation. But for now, police need to speak with witnesses on scene to try and better understand the story from the point of view of those who saw it directly. Can you tell me, I guess, what you saw to the best of your recollection when you did? At about 400 Y and here up there, there was a group of kids. They looked like kids. The guy was harassing them. They were telling him to get away. Yeah, two of the boys got up out of their seats. Two of the girls did. They went over and tried to get him away from them. And she leaned over and punched Madison in the face, okay? And then the other boy hit him back. As soon as it happened, the guy pulled out a knife and he just started just stabbing people.

that were around him. Okay, we were just chilling, and then we saw this older guy start harassing these younger teenagers. And we're the type of people to not let that happen 'cause they're young, so we tried to stop him, and he punched me in the face, and then went literally crazy because all the guys started tagging 'cause he punched me in the face. So, he took out a knife, and he just started stabbing everybody, and that's what happened. Everybody was just... It's all because he punched me in the face. That's really why everybody just... If you're thinking by that statement that it's your fault, it most definitely is not. Okay, we were floating down the river. We came... We caught up to a group of kids sitting in their tubes with an older guy standing over. How old do you think kids were? The kids were high school kids, high school kids. Isaac was part of that group, the one that passed away. He was part of that other group, and they were flagging us down, telling us please

please help us. This guy's a he won't leave us alone. And at first, I thought they were joking. He's like, No, really, please help us, help us. He's being very creepy. But that group of kids, I was worried that they were all going to gang up on him and something bad was going to happen to the 52-year-old guy. I was worried something was going to happen to him. We just wanted to shoot the guy away. I figured he'd go away if he saw people intervening. Next, next thing I know, as everyone's running at me, he stabbed me. He stabbed me, you know. And I saw the guy get punched and fall down. And who was the guy? The sorry, the suspect. Okay, I saw him flailing wildly, but I didn't realize he was stabbing everyone. And next thing I know, I'm dying. I can't breathe. You got to, you know. And I tried to get her in a tube so we can float her down and get her off. And it was just utter chaos from that point based on what witnesses.

are seeing. Nikolai was inappropriately approaching a group of ERS in the lake, was noticed by another group doing these things, and was confronted by the teens, causing him to stab anyone who tried attacking him. But this is only coming from the side of the victim's friends. Nikolai's friends and family, on the other hand, would seem to have a completely different recollection of what went down. Who did you come with personally? Just me and my husband, Goove here, and we met all of them over here. Okay, at any point in time, did any member of your group ever leave your group? My husband, um, Ariel, lost his phone. Okay, so he was looking for it, and he had it in one of those floaty things, but he thought maybe water got in it, so he put on, he brought scuba stuff with him, and he put that on, and he was down in the water looking for it. Did you see him the whole time he was off his tube? Yes, I did. Okay, what was he doing?

while he was off his tube, he was looking, yeah, and then this group of guys, I don't know how many, was on these tubes, saw all of them get off their tubes, and they started hitting him. Okay, all right, and what happened after that? I yelled, and then I just heard screaming, and then these guys all came back. They were on the other side, and we were on this side of the river, y'all. I heard somebody got hurt, but I don't know how. I don't know anything about that. I just heard someone was hurt. Do Nick known to carry? Does he ever carry a weapon with him? He had a knife in his pocket, not a very big one, and he said those guys grabbed it from him. The people he was fighting with? Yep, they grabbed it, and he said they swung it at him, and he grabbed their hand and moved it away. Okay, and that's when they went. I didn't see it. That's what he told me. Okay, and said all they

kept saying is they called me a then they started hitting me and he said all I did was try and look for this phone all right okay well yeah there was a few people hurt well we got some stuff to work out okay obviously you at the group being Nick's wife or wife and everybody else you guys aren't going to be able to leave for a little bit okay until we get the okay okay cuz it was more than just some injuries it was a pretty serious event that happen otherwise you wouldn't see people showing up intact to a green right okay nikolai's friends and wife claim he was spontaneously attacked and that Nick's knife was grabbed by the teens and that he was even threatened with the knife the phone recording shows nck I was ganged up 6 to1 when initially confronted turning to 13 people against one shortly after helping to authenticate those claims this complicated things for detectives the site against Nick claims he's a pedophile and went on a rampage after being called out the side with Nick

claims he was attacked by the teens and didn't see him doing anything predatorial. It's clear based off the phone recording that Nick did indeed commit the stabbings. However, his reasoning is uncertain. If the detectives determined the teens unnecessarily attacked Nick, then he could plead self-defense and most likely win. But if detectives can determine Nick acted erratically after being exposed for approaching a group of minors, then self-defense is less plausible, and he'd be facing murder charges. In order to solve this mystery, detectives decide to conduct interviews with every prominent witness that was at the scene the day of the stabbings. However, as the case would unfold, detectives would unravel disturbing secrets from both parties, leading to one of the most twisted conclusions in the history of policing. Police began by talking to Ashley, who was on the scene during the stabbings. So yeah, I'm just kind of trying to follow up on the craziness that happened out there. How are you doing? Uh, pretty good. So you were out there with a group of

friends for the day, yes, and we were just going down the river, and then we saw this um older man harassing these teenage boys. So Maddie said, Hey, get away, get out of their faces, just move along. And all of a sudden, he punched her in the face. She went down, and I were slowly walking up there, and then said, Dad, I just got stabbed. He has a knife. He just stabbed me. And then that's when I turned, looked at guts were all over. He was holding on to them. And then that's when he was like, Go call 911. And I was trying to get back, just started calling everyone and whatnot, killing everyone to get off the river and everything like, B, everything just happened so fast. Yeah, so he was harassing them, and then you said he was messing with their tubes. Yeah, he was trying to like pull apart their tubes. And that was the first contact you had with that other group? Yes, so then, you know, you asked that other group if they need help, and they said that you

know he was harassing them, messing with their tubes, and then what happened next. Um, that's when Maddie went up to the group. Maddie went up to the old guy, said, Hey, get out of here, you know, stop messing with these boys. They're only teenagers. Like, I don't know what started him off to wanting to punch her in the face, but that's when he punched her in the face. She slipped, fell in the water. That's when everybody surrounded him, saying, Don't hit a woman, just get out of here, and everything like that. That's when I'm slowly walking towards Maddie to see if she was okay, okay, and everything like that. Ashley's story doesn't quite line up with the other witness's claims or the speculation that Nikolai was doing anything that could would classify him as a pedophile. She claims he was harassing a group of males, and when Maddie approached him to stop, she was punched in the face. This is what caused the group to confront and push Nikolai, not because of the

predatorial theories. Regardless, punching Maddie for what seems like no reason at all is not only assault of a minor but degrading to any defense Nikolai could make in trial. Next, detectives speak to Emma, who shared the gruesome and horrifying details of watching the stabbings happen in real time. If you want, you just take me that day and yeah, tell me everything. It was a day I'll never ever forget, honestly. And so we had our music playing and we hear arguing, so you know we're not paying attention to it 'cause we didn't come there for that. And so we turned around and that's with my brother Larion. He was like, Sis, sis, you seeing this? I'm like, Seeing what? So then that's when we all get off of the raft and so we sto it 'cause the current was pulling us. So then that's when I see a guy just stab some poor boy in the stomach and go straight down. Um, and then that's when I saw him trying to put his intestines

back in his stomach. He was trying to still process what was happening. Everybody was screaming around the people who were trying to grab the knife from the man. It was like a lady and three other maybe teens. She was and she floated down the river. That's when she floated to us, and we put her on our raft and was holding her inside in 'cause she was still just bleeding out and crying. And then that's when I got my phone out, the plastic bag, and called the police. And it's like, dang, how are we going to stop this? But then other people rushed to go help him, the guy who had his intestines out, and another person was trying to grab the knife from the guy. But still, two other people got stabbed after that. Well, as we got to the grass area and we were helping the girl, we were keeping her calm. I was on the phone with the police at that time, trying to give them the location of where we were on the river, the owner of Apple River, and his workers.

people who worked at the river. They were coming down and trying to climb down from the area and asking us what was happening. And um, we told them what we saw and the weapon that we saw there too. And he vanished fairly quickly or I don't think he was running but you know with all the commotion we were more concerned about all the blood in the water, intestines floating, and other people who were severely bleeding. And so at that point it was really just Let's Help the people who were hurt instead of going to chase after the guy. So at what point did you see the knife? Was there already chaos and people that were injured? I saw the knife. Well, yeah, I saw the knife once it was um put into the male's body. He went in and went down and then that's when the intestines fell out. He pulled the knife out. I saw people trying to swing and grab the knife or stop him and that's when he just went and stabbed everybody who came at him. He

was just poking people, so the first meal that you saw injured was one with the stab injury. Yes, yep, he did walk up first, and he must have saw the knife first, 'cause he did walk up a little hostile. But I understand if he did see a knife coming at a group of teenagers. I do understand that. Did you see the other people wounded? I mean, like, did you see the physical action that the older male did to wound the other people? Three of them? It was three of them. Three of them. I did see. Those are all the people who tried to stop, put his hands out, Don't do this, and he just, I just, said everybody was in his way. Can you describe when the other people were scammed a little bit more? Do you have any more detailed info on that? First, I did see the other guy swing. So, the one who was not as injured, he did, like, sort of swing at him, but that is when he missed. He didn't hit him, and the guy did come around and, and then same for the

girl, she like came up and like tried to push him but wasn't successful, didn't have enough reach, and he went right for her side, right on one of these sides, on the side right here, and stabbed her in the stomach. And um, she was trying to walk away, and then she just dropped. Based on both Ashley and Emma's story, Nikolai is painted as a coldblooded killer who went on a rampage after being confronted and stabbed anyone he could reach. But it seems Emma might have a bias in her retelling of events. She recounts any attacks on Nikolai in an almost defeated way, as if she's ashamed to admit the story was rather double-edged at times. The teens were without a doubt wrong to some degree. It was unnecessary to gang up on Nikolai so heavily and attack him helplessly while he fell to the ground. But was this enough reason to stab five people in self-defense? The detectives will need to find more evidence to accurately figure this out. So with this

in mind detectives take a different approach and interview Amanda, Nikolai's coworker, who went to the Apple River alongside the same group as Nikolai. I'll just start. It's my understanding that you are co-workers with Nick, yes? He works in the other building. Okay, and how long have you known Nick? We started hanging out probably when his wife retired. Okay, so his used to work here, Sandra or Sandy? Sandy, yep. She was a supervisor in the other building. I'll say 3 years. 3 years is when you kind of started normally, yeah, hanging out and yeah, lots of co-workers come over. She invited co-workers over, and everybody's friends with him, and everybody's shocked, right? So about Nick, your friendship with him, what do you know about him? Just kind of describe him. What do you know about him, his story, where he came from, his history, what his legs are. Came from Romania. He's just an outdoorsman, likes fish and fishing, and just being outside and quiet, just calm.

doesn't like a lot of noise and chaos, but yeah, he's just a very calm, caring guy who would help whenever we needed help. If something would break down, he'd come over to fix it or help Ernesto fix something, and just always helping out, always helping people. Can you kind of just describe the day from there? Yeah, we just got there, and we got everybody together, and went and got our stuff, and we started setting up the tubes, and we just got in and started going, and then Sandy kind of looked and said, Nick, Nick's in trouble, Nick's in trouble. And I was still sitting, and like, Nick and CH, somebody help him, somebody help. And then I got up, I'm looking, I never saw Nick down there, I never saw any of our group down there, and I never saw Nick down there, and I'm just looking, I just see people just going every which way. I didn't see any blood or anything, and I'm just, I'm like, What's going on? This a big fight going on?

Then I was handed a phone. I think Diana called the police, and she handed me the phone, and I'm like, There's something going on. We're at the Apple River floating, and there's something happened. There's a fight. There's... I don't know what's going on. And I think I just repeated myself, and then she hung up. After that, Nick came back, and I just looked at him like, What happened? He's like, They called me a foul. They took my snorkel. They attacked me. They threw me on the ground. Assault. They're attacking me. And I'm like, I thought there was some kind of fight going on, and maybe he kind of bumped into them. I did see the kid on the side. I thought maybe he knocked his head or maybe got water in him. I didn't know anything about a stabbing or anything at that time. He just... He looked kind of stunned and shocked, and then he... I think he sat down. He didn't say another word. He didn't say

nothing, and everybody's just like looking around. I see the police. The police are here, so let's just wait and see. Maybe they want to talk to Nick because he was part of the thing. If I knew, if I knew then what I know now, we would not have gone down that river. I would have been like, You, something happened, you got to go. If I saw something really, if I thought that he did something, I saw it, I'd be like, What do you, you got to go, you got to. And I thought he would even like stop and say, Hey, something happened, I have to go. I would think he would have said something like that. And we're all there, it's terrible for us 'cause now we're getting all this crap. People, I got a phone call this morning, and it was nobody on the line, and I all scared. This is an important interview for detectives. Someone from Nikolai's group, shocked and disgusted by his actions that day. Not only has everyone who witnessed the

scene that day painted him out to be a monster, but his own coworker has too. Police now have a mountain of evidence against Nikolai but decide to talk to one final person, Larion, who reveals what actually happened leading up to the stabbing. Is there anything else you can think of about, um, you know what you saw, like, you know, some things that would be important to us, like, you know, like, uh, if you saw who pushed the guy, if you saw anyone else with the knife, if you saw anything like that. Well, the one of the boys who got stabbed, he was telling us that the dude, he was, um, he came up to them and asked them for, like, pictures, like, um, explicit pictures, and I'm like, I'm like, what? Then y'all got the fight in? I guess they got the fight, and he said, yeah, then he got to stab in him. So, and he asked him for, or this is one of the guys who actually got stabbed. Okay, yeah, he got stabbed. He said that he, that's what, that's what happened.

the dude was asking him for explicit pictures of the girls that they were with, so I guess from there it was like, Oh, what you doing? They got into an altercation, they must have put their hands on him, and then he retaliated by slashing him. This claim backs up why he was being called a file on the phone recording. If this is true, then the story makes a whole lot more sense. Nikolai approached the females asking for explicit photos, the females being mostly underage, declined, and Maddie confronted Nikolai on the matter, potentially putting her hands on him in the process. That's when he punched Maddie in the face, and all hell broke loose. A man then punched Nikolai, knocking him down, prompting him to stab anyone who tried to approach him again. A common opinion stated in unrecorded interviews was that Nikolai allegedly thought the teens on the tubes stole his missing phone, which prompted him to attack the teens. This is largely confirmed in the phone recording, as well as we can see Nikolai searching around the area and pushing the group's tubes.

around detectives would go on to interview countless more witnesses, all with the same general story: Nikolai harassed the group of teens, and when confronted, went on a coldblooded rampage. But still, people lie. Those who were friends with anyone injured at the scene would obviously remain biased towards the site against Nikolai and could keep out any information that didn't get caught on the phone recording. So with that, they sit Nikolai himself down and prepare to confront Nikolai on the piles of evidence they've rigged up against him and determine whether or not all of these stories are true. And I understand you're married to Sandy, right? Okay, um, is she okay? She is, yeah. She, I did talk to her. I talked to her for quite a while. Um, I brought her to get dry clothes. Where is she? Um, she is with Ernesto and Amy P, my puppy. Uh, she's headed home to take care of the dog. So I would like to ask you questions about your day today. What happened? Uh, you know, like how, how you

guys got to be in the Apple River today, and then like what your day was like. All I can say, it was self-defense. A lot of people that came on to me, self-defense. When they produced two weapons, one I took from them. This would be the start of Nikolai's string of lies during this interview. Nikolai did bring the knife he used to stab the victims. He brought it specifically so he could cut rope while on the river. After the stabbings, Nikolai threw the knife into the river, which was later retrieved. That's the only thing I can tell, and they were, they hit me, and they were on top of me, and that's, I don't remember anything after that. I just remember I ran away. I ran away to my group. There were actually people coming over from my group to see what was going on, and nothing, nothing, nothing. Just get back, and they kept asking, and I said nothing, nothing. I didn't explain to them anything because I was so

fearful. I didn't know what these people would be doing to us. I've never been in a situation like this where people produce weapons, and they were saying, they were calling, um, don't, I don't remember, but they said, don't run, don't run from us, don't do this, you're this, and said, you people drunk, or you're the only thing I remember in my mind is if I'm a, should you be drinking, should you be drinking alcohol, and doing what you're doing to people that you don't even know, attacking him, and I said, if I'm, you shouldn't be having alcohol, you know, and they took my, I was snorkeling, so they took my snorkel away, they threw it in the water, they grabbed my pants, one wanted to put my pants down, and I grabbed onto him, and I don't know who that kid was, but he produced, he had a knife on him, and then there was another knife, a longer knife, looked like a kitchen knife.

is true there was, in fact, an additional knife at the scene. It's unclear if that knife was pulled out at any point during the altercation, but at no point was the knife used to stab anyone. And I don't know what happened to either one of them. I just know that I, when the kid attacked me, I took that from him, the kitchen knife or the other KNE—no, the small, the smaller knife. Okay, what did that knife look like? Do you remember? I don't even remember, but it was smaller, smaller. Yeah, so that's all. How did you get to be by them? Who are these people? So, Ariel lost his phone. The phone was in the flo—one of those bags. Everyone had one, but his phone was in a floater. So, he says, Well, let's go look for it. So, I put my snor on, and I looked, and this guy called something, and they were talking about it, and I said, Okay, this group of people, this group. Yeah, I went over, and I said, Did you guys find the phone? And if you did

can I see it? Can I identify it? And they started calling me names. They got off of their tubes. They came at me like I said. All I need. And they were calling me all kinds of men, insulting me for being in the water with a snorkel up. And I said, All I want, guys, did you find a phone? And I thought they had found something. It seems rather ridiculous that Nick would be called such specific things if he confronted them as kindly as he says he did. It's very clear he's leaving something out of his story. Keep in mind at this point Nick has no idea the entire altercation was recorded. So he likely thinks these stories being completely innocent seem plausible. And we were looking desperately to find this phone. And I know somebody found it. But I thought it was that gr. They came to me and they grabbed my snorkel and they threw it in the water. Well, the water was so fast it went under. So I went out after it. And they started another

group of mostly girls came over from the other side, yelling at me or calling me something like that. And I went back. I went. I actually distanced them. I didn't even. I didn't. Don't even know what happened. Again, another flat-out lie. The phone recording clearly shows Nick was the initial aggressor when he started pushing the teens off their tubes. I just know that they attacked me, and I had. I was in self-defense. I went into self-defense mode, and then I went over to my group of people. That was it. And they asked me what happened, and I wouldn't tell them. I said, I can't tell you. Let me calm down, okay? I was shocked. So, nobody on that knew exactly what happened. The only thing they said was, What? Somebody got in a nightmare over there? Like, Yep, let's just leave that alone. Don't go there. And I said, Did you guys find something? And I thought they did. And I know they did because

they're hiding something from me, and then I went over there, and they grabbed my smoke, they threw it down, they started, they got off their tubes, they came off me, they pushed me, one of them hit me, and then there was a girl that came from here and hit me in the back of my head, and I was about right there. You said right here when she hit me, yeah. Said that's when the female hit you, yeah. I mean, I cared for my life, tell you the truth, when they started hitting me and pointed a knife at me, and then another kid pointed a knife. I thought that was it for me. Luckily, I took it from one of the young kids, and I think that's my S back. What did you do with it? I don't even know, okay? I don't know, absolutely. I don't know. Nikolai's defense becomes extremely hard to believe when he constantly lies about the incident. Again, the knife used was his. He did not take it from anyone. He pulled it from his own pocket, and

used it to stab five people. He threw it into the lake in the hopes he could cover the incident up completely. Proof of this is in his talks with police while being arrested, where he pretended he wasn't even near the scene of the crime. I don't know if you got it back. I have absolutely no idea. Did you hit him? Did the knife make contact with him? That I don't remember. You were so close. I had it in his hand, so I took his hand and I bent it, and I poked him with his own hand, and then I took it from his hand, and then I went and swung like this. So, I don't know who I hit. I just know that I took the knife from one of the kids. The other one, I don't know what happened to it. I didn't get it. Did you have a knife with you? No, no, absolutely. But you have one with you today, right? The what? A knife to cut. How did that? I think it's in my car. Okay.

yeah I think. Did you drive or did Sandy drive? I did. Okay, yeah. Okay, um, I don't even know uh where it's at, the little Truth. Uh, it may be in one of the bags we had with us. May have been in um, I don't know, maybe I left it, put it back in the car 'cause I went back with a bunch of, I had uh uh straps. I didn't want to pay for string, but they Str, well if proba don't want you to have straps. They told me, they said, yeah, you have stps ex aute over there. If you have straps, no problem, but the string is free. So I said, okay, I'll take the string, you know. And then I took the straps back. So it was straps can puncture the, yeah. So I took, I had a whole bag of straps that I took back to my car. Okay, and so maybe the knife was the strap. Uh, probably did. Do you have any cuts or marks on you? Have you had a chance to like look at your torso or uh somebody

was telling me that I'm bleeding from my ear, from my left ear. Who told you that? Oh, I think it was Amy. That could make you're bleeding from your left ear. I went like this. I went in the water. I cleaned. I don't see any blood. I really, I don't know if you see any cut, but I don't, yeah, I don't know where the why I was bleeding from my ear. This is a smart tactic used by the detective, by getting Nick to confirm he had no injuries. The prosecution can use this as evidence to rule out self-defense. Nick claims Amy told him his ear was bleeding, but says himself that he didn't notice any blood. In addition, it takes him seconds to recall who told him his ear was bleeding, meaning he could have just made the scenario up altogether. Um, but am blood, I think she says you're bleeding from your ear. [Music] Neck, and then I cleaned, and I said, look, there is nothing. Oh, okay, okay, yeah, yeah. I don't know if it was blood or if it

was Weeds she saw. I have no idea. Were like she was on the other side, and I was just, yeah, so she's over here, right? She's over here, yeah, right here. Oh, so she's closest. Am's over here, closest to shore, yeah, okay, with the N right here. And I was over here somewhere in one of these, okay? And you got back in that tube then when I was kind back in my own, okay? Notice how Nick feels the need to provide a detailed description on this claim from Amy but not for anything else. This is a common defense mechanism used by someone lying. When they feel as though their claims aren't being taken as truth, they try and depict the scenario in as much detail as possible to make it seem more authentic. Okay, so you took the smaller knife from one of them, and is that the one that you said that you kind of went, yes, oh, I was, I was, I was going like this. I want, I want it out. They were coming, and they were punching me, and they were circling me.

and they came really close. They were pushing me in the water. I didn't even know if I was holding it right. I just grabbed it from him because he tried to poke me with it. I feared for my life. Sounds like I was very shocked. I was extremely shocked. Is this you? Yes. What do you think was happening at that time? They were fighting me. They pointed the knife at me. They pointed the knife at me. Nick thinks this photo will actually help his case, but he's in for a rude awakening. Did you see anyone take this picture of you? No. God, no. I was actually very, very scared. I was very scared. I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what they were doing and why. I mean, I understand they're drunk, but you get drunk. I get drunk. We all get drunk. We don't do that kind of stuff, especially on a family river like this. Family thing. We don't do that kind of stuff. And I was very... You see, I was very, very scared. I didn't know what was going

to happen next. So, what happened? Can you tell me what happened? Yeah, um, people went to the hospital with injuries. Oh my God. And, uh, one person died. Oh no. Not a very remorseful reaction for someone who's just learned he killed someone and injured four others. It's almost like he fully knew that he critically injured multiple people. I don't know any of their names, and I don't know any genders, so I don't know. Was that because they fought each other, or is that... I don't know. I don't know what their injuries are. I was with Sandy the whole time, and then when I kind of turned Sandy over to some me, then I came here, so I have no idea what their injuries were. Oh my, oh my God. What other pictures do they give you? Me? Just that one. That's the only one I have now. My whole life. They down with tues. Well, I don't... I don't know if that's the case because people have the right to defend themselves. I know, but this is

this is Wisconsin. this is Wisconsin. okay, you continue on. I I I I usually know that people that that defend themselves, they end up being accused of being this and being that. well, I think if you asked me what I would have done, I don't know. yeah, you don't know. I don't know. I would have been scared shitless. I can tell you that. that many people. yeah, try to pull your pants down and hit you and yeah. and two two boys had knife on them. they didn't find any of those two knives. I I don't know. I don't know. but we're looking and you know we're looking before it gets dark out. um I'm glad I actually took that kid KN. he would have stabbed me. he was not there to scare me. he was there to harm me. again, notice how every time a knife gets brought up, Nick feels the need to elaborately explain that he took the knife and whoever had it was trying to hurt him. this is all a

deflection tactic to try and make his lie seem less suspicious. Nick would take blood vitals, and the interview would conclude, but notice his difference in tone between the start and the end of the interrogation. Clearly, he feels like something went wrong, and those emotions would carry directly into his trial, which would go on for nearly 2 weeks. The trial began with opening statements, followed by witness testimonies from those present at the crime. These were a complete mess and honestly made the prosecution's story seem a whole lot less credible. Take Lon, for example, who told a completely different story from what he told officers during his police interview. So, what you've provided to the state in terms of what you say you observed, there's much more than that, true? Yes. So, you give two statements, one about 11 days after the incident, 12 days, and one 21 months after the incident. Which memory in terms of the dates when you give those statements is one better than the other? If I said to you, memories normally better closer in time to an

event. Would you agree with that? Yes, all right. I remember he had a hat on. He looked like he wasn't supposed to be in the water, like he just came out of, um, he came out of the bushes. You remember that? Yeah. So, is it your testimony today under oath that the person involved in this incident had a hat on and came out of the bushes? No, you told the police. I told them that, yes, but I don't, but I don't, like you said, it could be foggy. I don't think that's what it was no more, though. Were you intentionally lying to the police? No. This is the interview the lawyer is referring to. The guy with the knife, you recall what he looked like? Not too heavy set, but he was like an older man. He was an older man. I can't really remember, like, with his hair or anything, 'cause I just be making something up. I don't really remember, but I remember he had a hat on. Yeah, he looked like he wasn't supposed to

be in the water like he just came out of the um he he came out of the um bushes. Next thing you know, he get to walking in the water and they they they they like they like they was going to fight or something. The dude the dude in the water swung on him and he pulled out the knife and get to stabbing him. Obvious lies like this work against the purpose of his witness testimony and make everything the prosecution says less credible. Generally speaking, this goes to show how unreliable witness statements can be. Lon's recollection of Nick's appearance wasn't even remotely close, yet he was fully confident in those claims. Besides Larion getting outed, the witness testimonies clearly show the jury all the evidence shown so far in this video and every factual piece of evidence that could be used against Nick. They claimed the teens's actions towards Nick did not justify the use of deadly force and should not be considered as self-defense. To further prove this, they presented autopsy reports showcasing just how severe some of the injuries inflicted by Nick actually were. Did you

complete an internal examination of Isaac's body. Yes, can you summarize the results of your internal examination of Isaac's body? Sure, um, as I said, I observed most important. I observed sharp injury to his left chest. Later, I classified this wound as a stab wound. So, it was a stab wound to the left chest. The stab wound penetrated to his left chest cavity. Then, the wound kind of continues and goes to the left lung. He had blood in his left chest cavity. I recovered 200 cubic cm. It's approximately a glass of blood. This would wrap up the prosecution's case and allow for Nick to take the stand. Nick would detail essentially the same story as in his interview, claiming that he was searching for a lost cell phone in the river when he was confronted by a group of people. He felt threatened and panicked when they surrounded him, leading him to use the knife in self-defense. The jury deliberations would begin on July 20th, 2023, and on July 21st, they would return a unanimous

verdict finding Nikolai guilty of first-degree intentional homicide with four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Nikolai had lost. This result was met with mixed reactions from the public. On one hand, it was clear that Nick's actions were extreme, and it was certainly not necessary to use that degree of force against the teens. However, he was ganged up on 13 to 1 precisely in the moment. Many felt his response was justified, and the teens put him in a scenario to fight for his life. On the contrary, those who watched all the evidence in court, aka all the footage shown in this video, realized Nikolai was lying through his teeth the entire time and clearly felt he was guilty to some degree. However, public opinion is irrelevant in the court of law, and the jury gets the final say determining he was a cold-blooded killer. The day of July 30th, 2022, Nikolai would be sentenced shortly after to life in prison. This was his raw reaction taking

Life and endangering the lives of others are two crimes that warrant significant punishment. For count one, I will impose a term of initial confinement of 20 years, followed by 6 years of extended supervision. 5 years of initial confinement, followed by 5 years of extended supervision. 5 years of initial confinement, followed by 5 years of extended supervision. 6 years of initial confinement, followed by 5 years of extended supervision. Count 6, Madison Cohen, 270 days of jail.

Teen Realizes He Accidently Recorded A Mass Stabbing

Dr Insanity

A 52-year-old man allegedly making inappropriate comments towards a group of teens at the Apple River sparked a physical altercation, leading to him pulling out a knife and attacking.

The man fatally stabbed 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and injured four others, causing panic and a flood of 911 calls for help.

Police quickly apprehended the suspect, Nikolai, with the help of a witness, and began investigating the incident.

A group of witnesses reported an older man, Nikolai, harassing a group of high school kids, leading to a confrontation that escalated into violence.

Nikolai allegedly pulled out a knife and started stabbing those who tried to intervene.

The incident resulted in chaos, with conflicting accounts from witnesses and Nikolai's friends and family regarding his actions and the events leading up to the stabbings.

A Violent Confrontation: The Stabbings at the River

Nick's wife and friends claim he was attacked by a group of teens, leading to a chaotic confrontation where Nick ultimately committed the stabbings.

The phone recording shows Nick being ganged up on, raising questions about self-defense.

Witnesses provide conflicting accounts, complicating the investigation and leading detectives to uncover disturbing secrets from both parties.

A chaotic scene unfolded at the river as a man wielding a knife attacked multiple people, causing severe injuries and panic.

Witnesses described the attacker as cold-blooded, stabbing anyone who tried to intervene.

Nikolai, the attacker, had a calm demeanor and a history of helping others, raising questions about the events leading up to the violence.

Nikolai's group was involved in a chaotic altercation at the Apple River, leading to a stabbing.

Witnesses described Nikolai's aggressive behavior, including asking underage girls for explicit photos, which escalated the situation.

The police gathered evidence and testimonies, painting a consistent picture of Nikolai's harassment and violent response, while he claimed self-defense during his interview.

An additional knife was present at the scene, but it was not used to stab anyone.

The conflict began when Nick confronted a group of people about a lost phone, leading to a physical altercation.

Nick's account of the events is inconsistent, and he is accused of being the initial aggressor and lying about his involvement with the knife.

Nick was informed by Amy that he was bleeding from his left ear, but he didn't notice any blood himself.

His detailed description of the scenario and the need to confirm his injuries suggest a defensive tactic, raising suspicion about his honesty.

The interrogation revealed Nick's fear for his life during the altercation, but his reaction to the injuries and death of others was not remorseful, leading to questions about his guilt.

The Trial of Nikolai: A Case of Self-Defense or Homicide?

Nikolai was involved in an incident where he allegedly stabbed a man after being confronted by a group of teens.

Witness testimonies were inconsistent and unreliable, raising questions about Nikolai's actions.

Despite mixed public reactions, the jury found him guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and attempted homicide, leading to a life sentence in prison.