I didn’t follow it all, but some.
The initial group of six boys (17 years old or so?) including well built football players, started calling him names and filming him. The filmer shouted “for the culture!” - presumably for tik-tok views. He was in their area looking for a lost phone and he told them that.
I heard one of the boys held up a phone in the waterproof cases that many had rented along with the tubes. Mr. Miu thought that was his friend’s phone and ran up to the boys on their tubes.
Miu claims he stumbled, but regardless, he fell onto the front edge of their tubes for a second, loosing his goggles. I don’t know if it was discussed, but in my mind I’m thinking they were taunting him with the phone (not the lost phone I don’t think, unless the boys dumped it back into the river as it was found later by police in the river), but regardless, he thought it was the phone and he went up to see.
I don’t think he meant to stop them from continuing their float and trying to get the phone, for as soon as he stumbled he got up, then went around the tubes looking for his googles that he dropped. (The water appears to be 1-1/2 foot deep.)
All the while the boys are filming and laughing and cheering and taunting him, I think to get a reaction or just show how “cool” they are and to post online. Then the two 20-something girls (just 20?) started walking over. Miu’s defense said Miu thought these two adult women could help him and he walked towards them (away from the boys, who now could have floated past him), but the women get in his personal space, both of them grabbing his upper arms at times, point in his face, and yelling and swearing at him.
Meanwhile the boys have surrounded him. One of the boys shouts “You have ten seconds”. Miu pulls his knife out of his pocket and opens it. While he does not have it concealed, nobody else notices it.
At some point Miu does something and one of the women, Madison (blonde), stumbles back. That split second was not caught on camera.
In the original police interview a good friend of Madison’s a 20 year old male by the name of Dante, told police that Miu made a swift motion and his friend Riley (brunette) who he was standing right next to, is the one who was hit and stumbled.
Except 21 months later did he testified instead that Miu used his right hand and punched Madison (standing on the other side of Riley) in the upper left side of her face - high up on her cheek bone. He was very precise in describing Miu’s arm motion and where she was hit. (Previously he said he saw a swift motion of some sort).
He did not know how Madison did not have any marks on her as Miu had his open knife in his right hand at the time. Madison’s oversized sunglasses, which covered her high cheek bone weren’t damaged. Madison somehow, after being punched in the face with a knife by a 250 pound man only stumbled on the slippery rocks, and was able to hold on to her drink and vape and her self-phone stayed put stuffed near her shoulder into her swimsuit.
Dante, who sometimes worked at his Dad’s bar as a bouncer, punched Miu because he was angry he hit his friend. Miu falls back into the river. Somebody pulls him from behind to hold him, his face sometimes under water, Dante hits him twice more until his brother pulls him off.
Miu is still being attacked by others and he starts slashing out. Dante hears the screaming and had his back to the group. He turns around (he says he was about 6 feet away from Miu) and Miu probably figured he was going to attack him again and stabs Dante once. (Based on Dante’s testimony, of course Dante may be lying or miss-remembered and Dante could have taken a step back towards the melee to help his friends or to attack Miu.)
Stepping back in time - Miu claimed that when the women were grabbing at him, pointing, yelling and in his face he brought his left hand up and out to create some space. He was not sure if he made contact with Madison or not. (Again, she stumbled, but she didn’t drop anything that she was holding.)
Dante made a big deal of being in fear of being harmed, or others being harmed. “So that is why you continued hitting him with him laying on his back in the water and surrounded? You were fearful?”
“Yes”.
“But then you went with your brother even though he was still there laying in the river when you had been in fear of him doing that, but then you stopped. Why did you stop? Was three hits enough to get your anger out?”
“Yeah - I guess.”
The above is not verbatim, but pretty close.
To me it is probably self defense. And that “probably” makes it a reasonable doubt that this was a 1st degree homocide.
I think what got Mr. Miu convicted was not calling 911 for help after the attack, leaving the scene the way he did (not fleeing for his safety, just floated down the river), tossing his knife, the lies he told his friends and police afterwards. And talking to them without an attorney.
Classic video on never talk to the police:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE&t=2477s
Oh. Dante, in fear for his and other’s lives as he hit Miu laying in the river - Dante was still able to hold onto his drink in his left hand.