KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ John Schooley, the designer of Schlitterbahn's Verruckt water slide, was being held in the Dallas County jail Tuesday morning after authorities arrested him the night before.
Schooley was taken into custody at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Monday evening by U.S. marshals after arriving on a flight from China. He is being held without bond and is expected to be taken to Kansas for a first appearance before a Wyandotte County judge.
The 72-year-old Schooley from New Braunfels, Texas, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, who died riding Verruckt in Kansas City, Kan., in 2016.
Schlitterbahn was not immediately available for comment.
Schooley had been working on a project in Asia when a grand jury handed down indictments against five defendants.
The Kansas Attorney General late last month unsealed an indictment that also charged Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry with second-degree murder. Henry and Schooley also were charged with aggravated endangerment of a child and aggravated battery.
Henry was arrested last week at his home in Cameron County, Texas, and has since been held in custody. He is due before a Wyandotte County judge for his first appearance on Thursday afternoon.
Tyler Miles, director of operations for the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kan., was also arrested in March and charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and aggravated endangerment of a child. Miles is accused of interfering with law enforcement by allegedly not turning over documents to investigators and coaching Schlitterbahn employees to alter statements in accident reports.
Also charged is Henry & Son's Construction Co., a contractor controlled by Henry, and the Schlitterbahn corporation in Kansas.
The company denies the allegations in the indictment. It said company employees have not withheld evidence and maintains that the park prioritizes the safety of its guests.
