New Jersey Grandfather Holds Off on 10-Year Plea Deal in Fatal Boat Crash Involving Two Grandchildren
A New Jersey grandfather accused of operating a boat while intoxicated during a crash that claimed the lives of his two young grandchildren did not accept a proposed 10-year prison agreement at a court hearing Tuesday.
Attorneys for Stephen Schneider, 64, told Ocean County Superior Court that they still needed time to examine substantial evidence before advising him on a possible plea. Prosecutors ultimately acknowledged that formal negotiations may have begun before both sides had received all the necessary material.
Schneider remains charged in connection with the July 19 collision in Berkeley Township that killed siblings Mya Bella Golabek, 9, and Sigmund Paul Golabek, 7. The allegations have not been proven in court, and no plea has been entered.
Proposed deal included consecutive five-year sentences
Schneider’s grandchildren — Sigmund Paul Golabek, 7, and Mya Bella Golabek, 9 — were killed in an alleged drunken boating accident in Barnegat Bay in July.Facebook / Jennifer Cisecki Golabek
Under the offer presented in court, Schneider would receive two five-year prison terms for the death-by-vessel charges. The sentences would run consecutively, resulting in a total of 10 years behind bars.
Defense attorney William Cunningham said the legal team was still waiting for much of the discovery in the case.
“We’re waiting patiently for most of the discovery, and it’s going to be a long time coming,” Cunningham told the court.
Assistant prosecutor Christopher Heisler agreed that important evidence was still outstanding. He said officials were awaiting an autopsy report and information requested from the US Coast Guard about the waterway.
Heisler noted that numerous police reports had already been provided to the defense but acknowledged that completing the remaining evidence collection would take time.
The discussion did not result in a completed plea agreement. Schneider is scheduled to return to court on November 16.
Family dinner ended in tragedy on Barnegat Bay
Schneider, 64, was arrested after allegedly piloting his boat while intoxicated.Ocean County Jail
The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. on July 19 as the family returned from dinner in Bayville.
Mya and Sigmund had reportedly travelled to the restaurant aboard their parents’ boat. After the meal, they chose to accompany their grandparents back to Schneider’s home aboard his 30-foot Tidewater 280 center-console vessel.
Schneider was operating the boat, with his wife also aboard, when it struck a wooden Intracoastal Waterway channel marker in Barnegat Bay near Berkeley Township.
The impact threw both children from the vessel. Authorities said Mya and Sigmund were wearing life jackets at the time.
Emergency efforts were unsuccessful, and both children later died. Schneider also sustained injuries in the collision.
He later surrendered voluntarily to Berkeley Township police.
Prosecutors allege blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit
Prosecutors allege Schneider had a blood-alcohol concentration of approximately 0.16 after the crash—twice New Jersey’s legal limit of 0.08.
He faces two counts of reckless vessel homicide, also described as death by vessel, along with charges of operating a vessel under the influence and reckless operation.
The defense has indicated that it intends to scrutinise the alcohol-testing evidence and investigate whether the channel marker was properly illuminated on the night of the collision.
Those issues have not yet been resolved by the court.
Schneider, a married retired postal worker, has remained under pretrial monitoring since his release from custody in August.
As part of his release conditions, he was prohibited from operating either a boat or a motor vehicle until completing a substance-abuse evaluation, according to reports from his detention hearing.
Children’s father previously supported Schneider’s release
The case has placed the children’s family in an exceptionally painful position.
During Schneider’s August detention hearing, Mya and Sigmund’s father—Schneider’s son-in-law—asked the judge to release him while the criminal case proceeded.
Through a letter presented to the court, the grieving father described Schneider as a loving grandfather and an important source of support for the family.
Cunningham argued that the children’s parents were themselves the victims of the tragedy and wanted Schneider released so the family could grieve together.
Prosecutors opposed his release, citing the severity of the allegations and the reported blood-alcohol result. Judge Wendel Daniels nevertheless allowed Schneider to await further proceedings outside jail under strict monitoring conditions.
The decision was based in part on his limited criminal history and the family’s request for his release, according to local coverage of the hearing.
Investigation remains incomplete
Several significant pieces of evidence must still be reviewed before the case can move toward a plea or trial.
The Coast Guard information requested by prosecutors could provide additional context about the waterway and the channel marker. The defense’s questions about the marker’s visibility and the accuracy of the reported blood-alcohol level may also become important points of dispute.
Tuesday’s hearing therefore ended without Schneider accepting the proposed 10-year sentence.
For now, he remains on pretrial monitoring as both sides continue reviewing the circumstances surrounding the collision that ended a family boat trip and claimed the lives of Mya and Sigmund.
Schneider is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. His next scheduled court appearance is November 16.