The suspect, Nicolae Miu of Prior Lake, Minnesota, made his first court appearance Monday afternoon via Zoom from the St. Croix County, Wisconsin. He was indicted on one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder. A prosecutor had asked Judge R. Michael Waterman to set Miu’s bail at $500,000 cash, but the judge doubled that, citing the serious nature of the crimes and concern for community safety. “Upon conviction, you face life in prison,” Waterman told Miu, referring to the charge of first-degree murder. Miu was represented at the hearing by a public defender, who told the judge that the defendant did not qualify financially to be represented by his office. Assistant Public Defender Jeremiah Harrelson informed Waterman that Miu is married, owns his own home and has a full-time job as a mechanical engineer designing residential, commercial and automotive ventilation and cooling systems. He said Miu has no previous criminal record. Harrelson said Miu did not know any of the alleged victims. PHOTO: The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Croix in Wisconsin released an arrest photo of Nicolae Miu, 52, the suspect in the July 30, 2022, stabbing in Apple River in Somerset, Wisconsin that left a 17-year-old boy dead and four other people injured. (St. Croix Sheriff’s Office) “This appears to have been a completely chance encounter on the river, a very unfortunate encounter,” Harrelson told the court. The judge denied Harrelson’s request that Miu be granted $50,000 cash bail along with an order to wear an electronic ankle monitoring bracelet. Miu pleaded not guilty to the charges and the judge informed him he could hire his own lawyer or ask the court to appoint one to represent him. He was ordered to return to court Friday for a status conference to update the court on his legal representation. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 12. The story continues Miu was arrested Saturday after fleeing the scene of the stabbing in Apple River in Somerset, Wisconsin, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Croix. The motive for the attack remains under investigation. MORE: Suspect in fatal stabbing faces 51 charges, including murder “We’re still interviewing people. We haven’t interviewed one of the victims yet. So that’s all still ongoing,” St. Louis County Sheriff said. Croix Scott Knudson on ABC News on Monday. The five victims were stabbed while tubing in the Apple River in Somerset on Saturday afternoon, the sheriff said. According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Miu, his wife and friends were floating down the river on inner tubes when one of his friends accidentally dropped a cell phone in the water and Miu returned to look for it. While using goggles and a snorkel to search the water, he encountered the alleged victims, who were also tubing in the river and accused him of harassing young girls. PHOTO: Water reclamation authorities comb the Apple River with metal detectors after five people were stabbed while wading down the river in Somerset, Wis., July 30, 2022. (Alex Kormann/AP) “Witnesses described Nicolae punching or slapping a female who was in the group confronting him. Nicolae was then punched by a male and fell into the river,” according to the complaint. Witnesses told investigators that Miu then pulled out a knife and began stabbing people, according to the complaint. But Miu’s wife told investigators she saw part of the fatal confrontation from a distance and saw several men take the knife away from Miu and attack him, according to the complaint. Miu’s wife claimed that her husband told her immediately after the encounter that at least one of the men “had a knife on him and that he grabbed it and took it away,” according to the complaint. He said the encounter lasted about five minutes, according to the complaint. Citing videos taken of the incident, investigators said it appeared that several people converged on Miu and shouted at him several times to leave. But as the situation escalated, at least one person touched Miu on the shoulder, according to the complaint. “From the video, it appears to show people on three sides of Nicolae at different distances. The video and the time that has passed indicates an opportunity for Nicolae to leave the confrontation,” the criminal complaint alleges. As the confrontation escalated, Miu was allegedly seen on video pulling out a folding knife and holding it at his side, according to the criminal complaint. As the collision became physical, the video showed Miu falling backwards into the water, getting back to his feet and allegedly stabbing a man in a yellow swimsuit who had pushed him in the back. After allegedly stabbing five people, Miu was seen on video climbing out of the water and running away, according to the complaint. He was later located at a nearby campground, where his car had been parked, and arrested, according to the complaint. Investigators located the folding knife with a black handle that was discarded on the riverbank, according to the complaint. A teenager killed in the incident is from Stillwater, Minnesota. Authorities are withholding his name pending an autopsy. The other four victims, three men and one woman, were taken to area hospitals with serious to critical injuries, according to the sheriff’s office. Two were released from hospitals Monday, Knudson told ABC News. MORE: Man who went on a stabbing spree at home is shot and killed by one of his victims The injured victims, whose names have not been released, ranged in age from 20 to 24, the sheriff’s office said. PHOTO: Water reclamation authorities comb the Apple River with metal detectors after five people were stabbed while wading down the river in Somerset, Wis., July 30, 2022. (Alex Kormann/AP) All of the victims suffered stab wounds to the chest and torso, according to the sheriff’s office. Two of the male victims, a 20-year-old and a 22-year-old, are from Luck, Wisconsin. The other two victims are a 24-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minnesota, and a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minnesota, the sheriff’s office said. The attack unfolded shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday on a stretch of river in Somerset on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border about 35 miles east of Minneapolis. MORE: Man arrested after 8 injured in Colorado Springs stabbing, police say Sheriff’s deputies responding to reports of people being stabbed arrived at the scene to find good Samaritans, who also had tubing, providing medical aid to the injured, according to the sheriff’s office. ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report. Suspect in Wisconsin river stabbing that killed teenager, injured 4 others held on $1 million bail originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
