Murder charges filed against the owners of a water slide which decapitated a boy in a horrifying accident have been dropped.
Second-degree murder charges were filed against the Schlitterbahn park owner Jeff Henry, designer John Schooley and the contractor of the slide.
Judge Robert Burns dismissed the charges, saying ‘irregularities and improprieties improperly influenced the grand jury to indict these defendants.’
"Quite simply, these defendants were not afforded the due process protections and fundamental fairness Kansas law requires."
The indictment said the slide was a ‘deadly weapon’ and the defendants rushed it into operation without the necessary safety tests.
Investigations found the ‘Verrukt’ ride had injured 13 people in six months.
The judge said the Kansas Attorney-General had ‘irreparably tainted’ the grand jury hearing with evidence that would never be admissible in court.
Kansas Attorney-General Derek Schmidt said his office would ‘review the ruling carefully’ and could ‘continue to pursue this matter in a criminal court’ at a later date.
