Waterpark Designers Charged With Murder After 10-Year-Old Boy’s Decapitation
The family of Caleb Schwab might finally get justice. Charges were recently filed in the aftermath of the tragic death 2016 of the 10-year-old boy. Caleb was decapitated in a fatal accident while riding a waterslide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, KS. People reports that a Wyandotte County grand jury recently indicted Jeffrey Wayne Henry, a co-owner of Schlitterbahn Companies and a designer of the waterslide; John Timothy Schooley, also a designer of the slide; and Henry & Sons Construction Company, Inc., the corporation involved in the slide’s construction.
The three defendants were previously indicted on counts of aggravated battery and aggravated endangering a child in connection. Authorities revealed that 13 other people were injured while riding the 17-story ride dubbed the “world’s highest water slide.”
Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab’s son was killed on Aug. 7, 2016. The raft went airborne on the ride, named Verrückt, and collided with netting and metal hoops. Verrückt is German for “crazy” or “insane,” and it was named the tallest waterslide by Guinness World Records in 2014. According to the Associated Press, co-owner Jeffrey Wayne Henry made a “spur of the moment” decision in 2012 to build the largest waterslide in the world to impress the producers of a Travel Channel show.
“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,” Caleb’s family said in a statement. “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.”
A trial was scheduled for Sept. 10, 2018.
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