Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry will make first court appearance in KCK next week
The Kansas Attorney General's Office on Thursday announced that Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry will make his first court appearance in Wyandotte County on April 5.
A grand jury indictment unsealed on Tuesday accused Henry of second-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated child endangerment in the 2016 death of a 10-year-old child on the 17-story Verruckt water slide in Kansas City, Kan.
Caleb Schwab was killed when he rode the thrill ride on Aug. 7, 2016. His raft went airborne and he hit a metal brace that supported a netting system atop the ride.
First appearances take place in front of a judge. The hearing will discuss the charges against a defendant, and both prosecutors and defense counsel will discuss if and how much bond should be set.
The Kansas Attorney General's Office has previously requested a $500,000 bond for Henry.
Henry was arrested Monday by U.S. Marshals and has since been held in a jail in Brownsville, Texas, without bond. Henry waived extradition at a hearing on Wednesday, but remains in custody.
Also facing charges is business partner and lead Verruckt designer John Schooley. Schooley was out of the country working on a project when the indictment was unsealed, and his current whereabouts are not clear.
The indictment accuses both of men of creating the idea for Verruckt on a whim to get publicity from a television show and sidestepping warnings and industry safety norms in rushing the slide to completion.
Another Schlitterbahn employee, Tyler Miles, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and interfering with law enforcement. The former director of operations at Schlitterbahn in Kansas City, Kan., is accused of withholding documents from law enforcement investigating the 2016 death and altering evidence.
Also charged are Schlitterbahn Waterparks of Kansas City, Kan., and Henry & Sons Construction, a general contractor involved in the construction of Verruckt that is controlled by Henry.
The company strongly denies the charges in the indictment and said all defendants plan to contest the government's case at trial.
Miles is currently scheduled for trial on Sept. 10.
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This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry will make first court appearance in KCK next week."