Now that the jury has found Nicolae Miu guilty of various counts of reckless homicide, I’d like to publish some of the notes I took on the case. The more I heard from the witnesses and those involved in the melee, the less I found them to be 100 percent victims. They took their part in escalating the confrontation, as their testimony makes clear. In fact, it increasingly seemed that Miu was the victim.
The Bottom Line
Despite the testimony of the witnesses, many of whom were eager to make Miu’s behavior leading up to the stabbing seem as provocative as possible, this account from The Daily Mail is fairly devastating, and should have been exonerating:
“The video then showed the group push Miu down into the water repeatedly and hit him while he scrambled to get up.
"Members of the group then began to shout: 'He hit a woman?'”As his wife confirmed, Miu was indeed looking for his friend’s phone, and had therefore hung back from his group of tubbers on the river. He wasn’t some weirdo snorkeling for “little girls” or whatever the drunk teens tried to claim after the fact.
Jawahn Testimony
One witness, Jawahn Cockfield was, as Nicolae Miu’s attorney said, “antagonizing” the 54 year old Miu, to a point that you can reasonably say that Miu felt he was under threat. You can see on the video he was being mobbed, and it looked pretty unfair. Why was he calling Miu names? Why did he call him a “raper”? (I believe the word he was looking for is “rapist.”) But was there any reason to call him a raper or a pedophile? On what basis? And if he really were guilty of that, you would call the police, not just start yelling at him.
The more I learned about this case, the more I found this group of kids, dare I say hoodlums, to be dubious at best. Kids, you’ll say. Drinking, smoking pot. Ok, but harassing this guy, why? Because he’s old, because he’s not tough-looking, just an old white guy? I mean, who was the aggressor, who instigated this violence? Judging by the video that these kids recorded, I have to say it was them. It doesn’t necessarily justify the stabbing, but it does tend to put it in the light of self-defense. Maybe Miu had a screw loose too or else why not just flee the confrontation? It seems Miu is a Falling Down Michael Douglass character that just had enough and went crazy. I’m sure he regrets his actions too.
Jawahn is 5 11, 230 pounds, so that’s Mike Tyson dimensions, bigger; he’s a collegiate wrestler and football player. A fifty-year-old white guy is not really going to be stepping to Jawahn, nor would I. And if he were yelling insults at me, I wouldn’t quite know how to react to that. It’s not a position I would want to be in either, having these kids harass me for no reason. Be sure to put yourself in Miu’s shoes.
Jawahn yelled “for the culture,” which almost makes it seem like racial violence. No one wants to say it, but that’s what it looks like, and I believe this is the subtext of the attorney’s cross examination and it was the message to the jury, which they were apparently too dense to perceive.
Filming Little Girls? Larrion Testimony
Larrion Davis’ testimony is when this case bordered into the farcical and memeworthy, and it got the attention of the online right. On one level, one doesn’t want to make fun of Larrion if he is merely inarticulate. But what if he has a motive to dissemble?
My first impression of the case was “there was a pedophile stabbing people, and here are the witnesses.” It went from that to, “Wait, how exactly was he a pedophile and why were they bothering this guy?” Some of the witnesses claim Miu said “something about little girls.” This was never substantiated.
Meanwhile, Larrion Davis initially claimed that the 54 year-old engineer was “filming little girls,” but then retracted and contradicted himself and his story. According to The Daily Mail, Davis “admitted lying,” presumably to establish a pretext for harassing and hectoring Miu, who wasn’t bothering these guys at all.
Here is the farcical exchange from Davis’ cross examination:
'You also said to the police, (Miu) came out of the bushes and he was taking pictures of little girls?' the prosecutor asked.
'Yes, I said that,' Davis responded. When asked if he 'saw that', he responded, 'I said that.'
'I understand you said it, did you see it?' they asked again. David said yes, but then did a weird 180:
David responded: 'Oh, no, no, no, that's what I said.'
'Like I said, I understand you said it, is it true?' the attorney continued, to which David replied: 'Oh, I don't know.'Given that these guys are making stuff up, contradicting themselves, and then retracting, it tends to make their case a little suspect. They felt the need to invent things that didn’t happen so as to explain surrounding Miu and attacking him, at which point Miu stabbed five of them and killed one.
On the stand, Jawahn at first comes off as a straight shooter, but on tape that he filmed, he really sounds like a wise guy who’s trying to show off and then post it on social media. That’s what this is really about: Grandstanding on social media for clout, decorum be damned.
Punching Blonde Girl
Jawahn claimed that Miu punched a woman, a blonde woman, Madison Cohen. But the photo shows two women getting in his face, and the blonde girl, as she was referred to in the case (as though being blonde makes her innocent), she was tatted up and yelling vulgarities. Even her friend testified that she was in Miu’s face swearing. If that’s your behavior, do you really get to play the “never hit a woman” card? You’re basically stepping into male territory by intimidating someone, violating their space and yelling in their face. Not a good idea. And so, according to her, he punched her.
Conclusion
Multiple witnesses said that Miu had a “demonic” look on his face, that his look was hollow and scary. Yet in the footage of the encounter, he looks wary, which is understandable, considering what’s going on around him. And on the stand, Miu was the opposite of “demonic.” The man was positively debonair. But alas, the hapless European immigrant was met with an American jury.
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Comment below:
21 responses to “Nicolae Miu’s Conviction a Grave Injustice”
Nicolae miu is the victim. I have watched and rewatched the video even slowed it down frame by frame. During the confrontation right before nicolae miu is assaulted by being pushed down into the water, several things happened that witnesses said happened but actually did not happen at all. This case needs to be appealed. Witnesses need to be charged with perjury.
I felt the same with all I watched of the video, court and witnesses. I hope they realise that their behaviour was completely inexcusable and that they played a part in their friend’s death. The whole thing is devastating, a teenager losing his life to a completely preventable situation, a man going to prison who did wrong but also felt very threatened by a bunch of teenagers intentionally provoking and mocking to the point he would have felt he had to defend himself … I would have too. I truely hope those teenage boys treat people with decency and respect in the future and remember what their awfulness needlessly brought out in that man and ultimately caused. They have had no consequences for their part and actions in the whole thing.
Is there anything you can start up, like a petition, for an appeal or justice for Nicolae Miu. Charge the teenagers with assault on Miu.
That’s a bit above my paygrade, but I’m happy to promote such an effort if it exists.
Wow. Another fan of a lying murderer posing as a logical analysis . Y’all are everywhere.
“Yeah but he can make his escape”. Yeah, good one. In water, on a riverbed, surrounded by a baying mob who are actually hitting him and grossly outnumbering him. His best defence is to not turn and go, he has to ready himself for the obvious attacks.
“Yeah but he can flash the knife at them”. Yeah, good one, he is vastly outnumbered and they are obviously drunk as hell (proven), he’ll easily be overpowered and likely stabbed.
In a parallel universe, the one where Miu didn’t stab them, I could see that being a universe with a dead Miu. Not just in his head (which is what mattered, for the self defense argument), but in reality. The madness of people in groups. x5 cos they’re drunk, and young. x5 more cos they’re attributing to him (falsely) a predatory crime. x5 because they needlessly commit open acts of serious violence on him. I could see the guy just getting killed. Where would the restraint come from, in that group?
Maybe Miu is the victor. Ok 60 years, but at least he’s alive. It’s almost an argument for carrying a knife. Gun would be better, I suppose. Fire it into the air, they all disperse.
Terrible tragedy for the dead victim. Enormous sympathy. But not 100 percent. Dude, you smacked a non-threatening, cornered, frightened, seemingly defenceless man in the face. You made him fear for his life, and he stabbed you. FAAFO if I ever saw it.
Genuinely shocked at the verdict and sentence. Max manslaughter here, max 3 years, out in 18 months. Life in prison? Gimme a break. Miu had no criminal record for a reason. Not an aggressor.
I live in the 2nd amendment, free, loving, stand your ground state of Florida.
This case just infuriates me!
In my state there would be no question of Nicolaes innocence! You should have the right to defend yourself when there are ravenous wolves nipping at you, and that’s exactly how I viewed this video! I will stand my ground in any state, because that’s the way I was raised.
Also obviously there needs to be some regulation on the alcohol consumption in such a beautiful, gathering place. Keep the partying for your home. Just my opinion.
I truly hope The innocence project gets a hold of this case, or some kind of petition for a re-trial. It’s so obvious that the ruling was based on court of public opinions, and lies!
– Mr. Miu approached the group unannouced
– Mr. Miu never told the group why he approached them or asked them for help finding a phone
– Due to this odd behavior by an older man, the youths began telling him to leave
– Mr. Miu left without and then turned back around to confront them after being called a name (he should have kept walking, esp if he feared for his safety in this group)
– Mr. Miu had his hand on his pocket (that held the knife) when he turned back
– Mr. Miu removed the knife as the kids teased him, with blade UP
– Mr. Miu did not warn them to get back while brandishing a knife in order to get them to stop the harassment less they risked being injured if they escalated the events
– Mr. Miu smirked as the kids continued to tease him, he wasn’t afraid and had opportunity to walk away (no one obstructed his way to his group)
&
The kids were obnoxious. They were drunk or high. They didn’t DESERVE to die people.
It’s a river the can be anywhere he wants. He was searching for property
Everything you mentioned are lies and you do know know the case or the victim, Nicolae Miu, and it shows.
My daughter and I watched the entire trial. Travesty of justice. This man was the victim of spoiled young adults who were drinking underage. Why were they not charged for anything? We feel that the family must have good connections within the justice system for this to have even gone to trial. None of the young adults took responsibility for their actions. They contributed to the young man’s death and the others injuries. Nick did not go up the river with an intent to harm anyone! These young people took a look at Nick and judged him on his looks. I hope that he wins an appeal and if a new trial is granted it is in another less prejudicial part of the state or part of the country. I would be ashamed to admit that I lived in that state. These spoiled young people have gotten away scot free with this crime and will live the rest of their lives not taking responsibility for any of their actions. All of the parents involved should be ashamed of themselves for not making their children take responsibility for their part of this tragic situation.
What a completely despicable article. You should consider a different hobby, I don’t think antagonizing victims is a good look for you. And to everyone else supporting Nicolae, try extending that sympathy to the people involved who never used lethal force. Everyone but Nick.
You don’t even use your real name to post! Who are you to tell anyone 🤔 I seen with my own eyes he was physically assaulted! Who was tried without a fair trial period!! It was the court of public opinion, and those kids should not have been allowed to even drink! So many things wrong with this trial!
Sorry grandma, but it’s actually a bad idea to freely throw personal information onto the internet. You strike me as the type to ignore the consequences of certain things…
If the trial was improperly conducted, Nick could work towards having it declared a mistrial. But unfortunately for the cold blooded murderer, the justice system operated flawlessly in his case.
Whether or not the kids should have done anything, Nick took every opportunity to escalate the situation in the most dangerous ways possible. His actions were not reasonable for the situation, a situation he instigated.
Tell me a few of the “So Many@!!@” things that were wrong with this trial from a serious perspective, instead of pointing blame at victims.
You are an idiot! If the underaged drunk and drugged up teens minded their own business, none of this would have happened!! That is the bottom line!! They were looking to pounce on anyone. Shame on the parents for pampering these lying thugs!!
Soros D.A.s have been given protocols: never allow the innocent public to defend themselves against antagonizing marauders. THEY are who the bought legal system prioritizes. People have bankrolled American society to fall apart, and anyone who resists this trend will be punished handily.
Seems an appeal is warranted for this case. The video clearly shows who were the antagonists and who was the victim. I love when bully’s get put in their place. Lose of life is tragic but the group of drunk students pushed the guy to his fight or flight limit. Nick did attempt to walk away but was knocked down and pummeled by the group. As they escalated the attack and spurred each other on they could have easily gone too far and Nick could have been the fatally, he needn’t wait to find out. The bully’s who initiated the situation get no sympathy from me.
Horrible injustice! Pray he gets his appeal!!
Very sad. Stupid kids always fuck themselves over and cause death and misery in the process. Now one kid is dead and Nicolae is doomed to “live” the next 20yrs in jail.
Stuff like this is why i stay home and avoid clusters of teen boys and fat, pig-like white women like the plague. They are demonic in nature and bring nothing but misery into this world.
Pray this innocent man gets an appeal. Disregard for life on the river that day? What about HIS LIFE? He would’ve surely died had he not finally defended himself. He only went after those who were coming after him! The damage to his body was never treated and still hasn’t been to this day. River rocks hurt. They cause spinal injuries and head trauma! Wrong call. Those adolescents (and the drunk adult female) killed Issac…and injured the others. They instigated it and continued it…they got together to use terms to hurt Nick more like “punched”…he merely pushed her face away from his face where her drunken breath was screaming foul obscenities. This is a man of God. Is it a crime to be too proud to admit he was fearful? To feel like it makes him less of a man? Show some grace and get the facts straight. He was dreading for his life!!
This conviction was a shock. An injustice. I can’t believe there isn’t an appeal. The damage the young men caused by yelling for help a hurling accusations (lying) and getting others to get involved. They called ‘wolf’s and they attacked the older man. Miu’s attornshould have been more aggressive in cross examination with the young men. Where is an appeal? Was the trial in a location where it would be hard to get a fair trisl? So vertrial? I hate bullies.