5 defendants in water park death want separate trials

Kansas City, Kan. — Five defendants charged in the death of a 10-year-boy at a Kansas water park are seeking separate trials.

The Kansas City Star reports motions filed Tuesday in Wyandotte County say Jeff Henry, John Schooley and Henry & Sons Construction want to be tried separately from Tyler Miles and Schlitterbahn Waterpark of Kansas City, Kan., where Caleb Schwab was decapitated on the 17-story Verrückt water slide in August 2016.

Henry co-owns Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, Schooley helped design the ride and Henry & Sons Construction was the general contractor. They are charged with second-degree murder in the boy’s death.

Miles, operations director at the park, and the park itself are charged with manslaughter. All have pleaded not guilty.

The filings argue those involved in designing the ride should be tried separately from those who operated it.