Jeff Henry, the co-owner of the water park where a 10-year-old boy was decapitated while riding the world’s tallest water slide, has been arrested on criminal charges relating to the 2016 incident.
As we reported yesterday, the story behind the death of Caleb Schwab is even more complex and horrifying than it initially seemed, with investigators finding that owners of the Schlitterbahn waterpark had not followed any established safety and engineering standards in the design of the Verrückt water slide.
The park’s director of operations, Tyler Austin Miles, has already been charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated endangerment of a child and aggravated battery. It was widely expected charges for Henry would follow suit, given how frequently he was mentioned in the grand jury indictment.
The indictment also repeatedly mentioned one John Schooley, who was reportedly the lead designer of Verrückt. He has not been charged at this time.
“This child’s death and the rapidly growing list of injuries were foreseeable and expected outcomes,” the indictment said. “Verrückt’s designers and operators knew that Verrückt posed a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or severe bodily harm.”
Caleb Schwab’s family issued a statement about the investigation via their attorneys:
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.
Caleb’s father is Kansas state representative Scott Schwab.
We’ll keep you updated.
