Kansas water park co-owner arrested over 10-year-old boy's decapitation

Jeffrey Henry. (Cameron County Sheriff's Department via AP)

The co-owner of a water park company was arrested in Texas Monday in connection with the 2016 death of a 10-year-old Kansas boy on what was billed as the world's largest water slide.

Jeffery Henry, the co-owner of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, was booked into the jail in Cameron County, Texas. According to the county's online "inmate list," Henry faces charges of murder, 12 counts of aggravated battery and five counts of aggravated endangerment of a child.

Last week, a Kansas grand jury indicted the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kan., and its former operations director, Tyler Austin Miles, on 20 felony charges over the death of Caleb Schwab.

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Caleb was decapitated on Aug. 7, 2016 while on the Verruckt ride at Schlitterbahn Waterpark Kansas City after the raft he was riding went airborne.

Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said in a statement 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.

Cameron County Sheriff's Capt. Javier Reyna told the Kansas City Star that Henry was arrested 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 Verruckt slide -- which took its name from the German word meaning "insane" -- has been closed since Caleb died.

Caleb Schwab 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.

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

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."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.