Designer of waterslide that decapitated 10-year-old boy taken into custody

USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Kansas water park executives charged in boy's death Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts co-owner Jeffrey Henry waived extradition to Kansas in a Texas court on Wednesday. He faces charges including second degree murder from the decapitation of a 10-year-old boy in a 2016 waterslide accident. (March 29)

The designer of the Kansas waterslide that killed a 10-year-old boy was taken into custody Monday evening.

John Schooley, 72, was taken into custody at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport after returning from China, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

He is facing charges of second-degree murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated endangering of a child.

Schooley, and two other water park executives face charges related to the death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, who was decapitated in an August 7, 2016 accident on the Verrückt waterslide, billed as the world's tallest at the time, at Schlitterbahn Waterparks & Resorts in Kansas City. The raft Caleb was riding went airborne, hitting a pole and netting designed to keep riders from being thrown from the ride. Two other women were severely injured in the same raft.

A grand jury indictment unsealed in March charges Schlitterbahn Waterparks & Resorts co-owner Jeff Wayne Henry, park director Tyler Austin Miles, and the construction company that built the water slide, with a host of criminal offenses.

The indictment says that a company co-owner, Jeffrey Wayne Henry, was the co-designer of the Verruckt, despite the fact that he "possesses no technical or engineering credentials" and is a high-school dropout. Henry also faces one felony count of second-degree murder.

Experts determined that there was evidence "other rafts had gone airborne and collided with the overhead hoops and netting before the fatality," the indictment stated. "These experts noted that Verruckt's design violated nearly all aspects" of longstanding industry safety standards.

More: Boy dies on Kansas waterslide billed as world's tallest

More: Kansas waterpark operators indicted on criminal charges in child's death

After the Guinness Book of World Records certified Verrückt as the world's tallest water slide, Henry tore down half of it to make corrections, delaying the planned opening and costing an additional $1 million, USA TODAY reported in 2016. Testing was conducted after dark to avoid media helicopters that had been buzzing the park after hours.

In 2014, Henry called the ride, "dangerous, but it's a safe dangerous now." He said Schlitterbahn "is a family water park, but this isn't a family ride. It's for the thrill seekers of the world, people into extreme adventure."

Contributing: Mike James and Greg Toppo