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Water park victim’s family releases statement on criminal charges

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The Latest on the arrest of a water park company’s co-owner in Texas in connection to a Kansas criminal case

The family of a 10-year-old Kansas boy killed on what was promoted as the world’s largest waterslide says a criminal indictment shows that issues with the water park company “go far beyond” the boy’s death.

The family of Caleb Schwab released a statement in reaction to a 20-count indictment released last week of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and one of its co-owners.

Another co-owner, Jeffrey Henry, was arrested Monday and booked into a Texas jail on suspicion of murder, child endangerment and other charges. He’s expected in court Tuesday.

The Schwab family says they have “full faith and trust” in Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and know he’ll “take appropriate steps in the interest of public safety.”

Caleb was killed in August 2016 while riding the waterslide at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas.

The indictment released last week alleges the slide met few, if any, industry standards and that necessary repairs were avoided or delayed.

Henry-photo Cameron Co. Sheriff

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the arrest of a water park company’s co-owner in Texas in connection to a Kansas criminal case (all times local):

11:45 a.m.

A Texas judge has ordered the co-owner of a water park company held without bond as a criminal case proceeds in the death of a 10-year-old boy at one of the company’s parks in Kansas.

Victoria Cisneros, spokeswoman for the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, says 62-year-old Jeffrey Henry appeared for a hearing Tuesday.

She says county prosecutors asked that Henry be held without bond at the request of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. Henry was earlier being held on a $500,000 bond. He’s facing charges in Kansas of murder, aggravated battery and aggravated child endangerment.

Henry will remain at the Cameron County jail in far South Texas as he awaits extradition to Kansas. Cisneros didn’t immediately have details on when extradition may occur.

Henry’s arrest Monday follows a Kansas grand jury’s indictment last week of the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, and a former operations director on 20 felony charges. They included a single count of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Caleb Schwab in 2016.

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8:45 a.m.

Jail records show the co-owner of a Kansas water park where a 10-year-old boy died on a giant water slide is being held in Texas on suspicion of murder, aggravated battery and aggravated child endangerment.

Cameron County jail’s brief online records cite a “Kansas agency” in the booking charges against Jeffrey Henry. The records don’t provide any detail, but a spokeswoman for the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, said Monday that Henry had been arrested in the 2016 death of Caleb Schwab.

The office of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt hasn’t responded to phone calls and emails seeking details about possible charges against Henry. The Kansas indictment is sealed.

A Cameron County booking clerk says Henry is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

A Kansas grand jury last week indicted Schlitterbahn and its former operations director, Tyler Austin Miles, on 20 felony charges. They included a single count of involuntary manslaughter in Caleb’s death.

Henry is co-owner of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts. Online jail records did not list an attorney for him.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A water park company’s co-owner was expected to appear in court after his arrest in Texas in connection with a Kansas criminal case arising from a 10-year-old boy’s death on what was promoted as the world’s largest waterslide.

Records show that Jeffrey Henry, co-owner of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, was booked into the jail in Cameron County, Texas. He was being held without bond, and a jail booking clerk said he would remain there until a court appearance Tuesday.

Henry’s arrest Monday follows a Kansas grand jury’s indictment last week of the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, and its former operations director, Tyler Austin Miles, on 20 felony charges. They included a single count of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Caleb Schwab in 2016.

Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said that considering last week’s indictment, the company is not surprised by Henry’s arrest. The company also promised to aggressively fight the criminal charges against Miles and the park, and respond to the allegations in the 47-page indictment “point by point.”

“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,” she said in an emailed statement.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails seeking further comment, details about Henry’s arrest, or information about exactly what criminal charges he faces. The Kansas City Star reported that Henry was taken into custody by U.S. marshals out of Brownsville, Texas.

Prosapio said Schlitterbahn does not expect any changes to the Kansas City park’s season, which is set to open May 25 and run through Labor Day. The big slide there — Verruckt, or German for “insane” — has been closed since Caleb died.

The boy was decapitated after the raft on which he was riding went airborne. He was the son of Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab, of Olathe, and the family reached settlements of nearly $20 million with Schlitterbahn and various companies associated with the design and construction of the waterslide.

The two women who rode with Caleb suffered serious injuries and settled claims with Schlitterbahn for an undisclosed amount.

Miles-photo Wyandotte Co.

The indictment against Miles and the park alleges that Verruckt met few, if any, industry standards and that Miles delayed or avoided necessary repairs, even after the ride’s brake system failed.

The indictment also said Henry helped design the giant waterslide even though he had “no technical or engineering credentials” and that he set a “rushed timeline” for its construction.

Schlitterbahn said last week’s indictment is “full of false information,” and the company also rejected its allegations that Miles and the company withheld information from law enforcement officials. It said the allegation that Caleb’s death was foreseeable is “beyond the pale of speculation.”

Miles’ attorneys said in their own statement that they welcome the opportunity to prove his innocence in court.

“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,” the attorneys, Tom and Tricia Bath, said in their statement. “These are not the actions of someone who believed the ride to be dangerous.”

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas water park’s operator says it will open again as scheduled this spring and aggressively contest criminal charges arising from a 10-year-old boy’s death on a giant slide.

Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts said in a statement Monday that a grand jury indictment’s allegation that the 2016 accident was foreseeable is “beyond the pale of speculation.”

The company also promised to respond to the allegations in the indictment “point by point” in coming weeks.

A Wyandotte County grand jury indicted the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, and former executive Tyler Miles on 20 felony charges. Miles’ attorneys also said he is innocent.

The charges include involuntary manslaughter in the death of Caleb Schwab in August 2016. He was decapitated on the Verruckt waterslide touted as the world’s largest.

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