John T. Schooley, who was listed as a designer of the Verruckt waterslide, has been taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service in Texas, the Kansas attorney general’s office has confirmed.
The attorney general’s office had no further comment on it at this time.
An indictment by a Wyandotte County grand jury was released March 27 that charged Schooley with second-degree murder in the death of a 10-year-old boy on the waterslide in August 2016. He was also charged with aggravated battery and aggravated endangering a child in connection with injuries on the waterslide.
Also charged in the indictment was Jeffrey W. Henry, a Schlitterbahn co-owner and a designer of the Verruckt waterslide, along with Henry and Sons Construction. Henry was arrested March 26 in Texas on charges of second-degree murder, aggravated endangering a child and aggravated battery.
The 10-year-old boy who was killed on the waterslide at the Schlitterbahn waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas, was the son of a state legislator. The Verruckt waterslide was closed down after the death.
Schlitterbahn released a statement last week that it will fight the charges in the indictment. The indictment is online at https://www.wycocourtks.org/uploads/4/4/1/2/4412070/indictment.pdf. One of the Schlitterbahn statements said the indictment was “full of false information.” Its attorneys will be speaking out about the allegations point by point in the coming weeks, according to the statement from the waterpark. The park statement also said that the waterpark is safe. To see the Schlitterbahn statements, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/schlitterbahn-releases-statement-on-indictment-of-co-owner/.
