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Third person charged in death of boy on Schlitterbahn water slide

Co-owner Jeff Henry, co-slide designer John Schooley named in second indictment

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SAN ANTONIO – Two more people have been indicted in the death of a 10-year-old boy, who died while riding the Verruckt water slide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark of Kansas City in August 2016.

A Wyandotte County grand jury indicted Jeffrey Wayne Henry, who is a co-owner of New Braunfels-based Schlitterbahn companies, and John Timothy Schooley, a designer of the water slide.

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Henry & Sons Construction Company, Inc., a corporation involved in the design and construction of the water slide was also named in the second indictment.

The first indictment, which was released on Friday, led to the arrest of park manager Tyler Miles.

RELATED: Schlitterbahn co-owner arrested on charges related to boy's death on water slide

All three defendants were also indicted in connection with injuries sustained by 13 other persons, including four other minors, while riding the waterslide.

Those charges include aggravated battery and aggravated endangering a child.

(Image via Cameron County Sheriff's Department)

The initial 47-page indictment alleges executives with Schlitterbahn knew of numerous problems with the Verruckt water slide before the death of Caleb Schwab.

Caleb was killed when raft he was on with two other women went airborne and struck a metal pole that supported a netting system meant to keep riders from flying off the ride.

Caleb suffered an internal decapitation and the other two women were seriously injured.

(Wyandotte County Detention Center via AP)

The indictment detailed various serious injuries suffered by other riders before Caleb was killed.

The indictment also stated Miles intercepted lifeguard incident reports, and Henry and Schooley skipped fundamental designs steps in the design process in a desire to rush the project.

When reports surfaced of airborne rafts, Henry and Schooley began secretly testing at night to avoid scrutiny, according to the indictment.

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Henry was arrested on Monday in South Padre Island by the U.S. Marshals Service.

His next court appearance in Cameron County District Court is scheduled for Thursday.

Schooley was not in custody at the time of this article’s publication.

A spokesperson for Schlitterbahn said on Monday the company will be contesting the allegations and are working closely with law enforcement. 

The company released a statement in regard to the indictment that read:

We were shocked by the allegations being made by the Attorney General about Tyler and our KC park. The allegation that we operated, and failed to maintain, a ride that could foreseeably cause such a tragic accident is beyond the pale of speculation. Many of us, and our children and grandchildren, have ridden the ride with complete confidence as to its safety. Our operational mantra has been and will forever be Safety First.  The accusation that we withheld information or altered evidence is completely false. We have operated with integrity from day one at the waterpark – as we do throughout our waterparks and resorts. We put our guests and employees safety first; and safety and maintenance are at the top of our list of priorities. Since the date of the incident we have worked closely with law enforcement; at no time have we withheld evidence; at no time have we altered evidence. The indictment uses quoted statements from a reality TV show that was scripted for dramatic effect that in no way reflects the design and construction of the ride. Quotes were purported to be from definitive design meetings, when they were, in fact, “acting.” During the civil matter, attorneys involved noted that we cooperated fully, provided thousands of documents, and that nothing was withheld or tampered with. The secret Grand Jury never heard one word from us directly, nor were we allowed to provide contradictory evidence. And we have plenty. In fact, the indictment presented is so full of false information that it has shocked the Kansas legal community, as you can see in the statement from Tyler Miles’ attorneys below.  Our legal team will be speaking out against each of the allegations point by point in the coming weeks and months. Rest assured, we stand behind our staff and all our parks. We will be fighting these charges aggressively. We know that Tyler is innocent and that we run a safe operation – our 40 years of entertaining millions of people speaks to that. We look forward to proving this in court where we know the facts will prove this was an accident.

An attorney for Miles also released a statement:

The suggestions that C.S.’s death was foreseeable to Tyler Miles, that, with this knowledge Tyler “avoided or delayed repairs,” and that Tyler “had covered up similar incidents” are simply not true. Not only had Tyler ridden the slide numerous times, but, as the State is aware, he had scheduled his wife, to ride it on the day of the accident. These are not the actions of someone who believed the ride to be dangerous. The allegation that Tyler knowingly obstructed the investigation is, likewise, false.  From the moment of the accident, and continuing until the charges were filed, Tyler cooperated with law enforcement. He did not hide or destroy documents. The Constitution requires that an Indictment be based upon legal evidence- not speculation or conjecture. This Indictment is based upon Grand Jury proceedings, which are conducted in secret. While neither we nor the public have had an opportunity to see transcripts of Grand Jury witness testimony, the Indictment is littered with references to evidence that is not legal. Only after Tyler is able to obtain transcripts, witness statements and police reports will he, like any citizen, be in a position to fully address these allegations. What we know is that Tyler is innocent, which is why he insisted, at his first court appearance, that we set the matter for jury trial. We look forward to the opportunity to challenge the evidence, in a public forum, and prove Tyler’s innocence. 

Statement on Henry's arrest:

Considering the allegations from Friday’s indictment, we were not surprised at the actions taken by the Attorney General to charge Jeff Henry. We as a company and as a family will fight these allegations and have confidence that once the facts are presented it will be clear that what happened on the ride was an unforeseeable accident.

Scott Schwab’s statement regarding the recent indictments filed against Schlitterbahn, Henry and Tyler Miles:

While we as a family continue to mourn and heal from Caleb’s passing, we wanted to again thank the community of Kansas City for its continued prayers and support. While we have no control over the investigation, we have full faith and trust in Attorney General Derek Schmidt and his office as relates to last week’s indictments, as well as any other decisions that office may make going forward. Clearly the issues with Schlitterbahn go far beyond Caleb’s incident, and we know the Attorney General will take appropriate steps in the interest of public safety.

Below is a history of incidents on the Verruckt water slide:

Indictment for Jeff Henry, Tyler Miles related to Verruckt water slide by RJ Marquez on Scribd


About the Author
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RJ Marquez is the traffic anchor/reporter for KSAT’s Good Morning San Antonio. He also fills in as a news anchor and has covered stories from breaking news and Fiesta to Spurs championships and high school sports. RJ started at KSAT in 2010. He is proud to serve our viewers and be a part of the culture and community that makes San Antonio great.