JERSEY SHORE BOAT TRAG3DY — FATHER OF THE TWO CHILDR3N KILL3D BY THEIR GRANDFATHER PLEADS FOR HIS RELEASE… AS PROSECUTORS REVEAL A DISTURBING DETAIL
The New Jersey grandfather in a drunken boat crash had a blood alcohol of twice the legal limit prosecutors said — as the kids’ dad pleaded for him to be released from jail.
Judge Wendel Daniels granted the release of retired postal worker Stephen Schneider, 64, at an Ocean County court hearing Wednesday, where it was revealed Schneider allegedly had a BAC of .16 – twice the legal limit of .08.
“The defendant consumed enough alcohol to reach a BAC of approximately 0.16 and then operated a vessel and the result was catastrophic,” prosecutor Kate Burke said as she asked for Schneider to remain in jail pending trial.
Stephen Schneider was charged with two counts of reckless vessel homicide/death by vessel.Ocean County Jail
His blood alcohol level “demonstrates the degree of impairment the defendant chose to operate the vessel with,” Burke said, noting that “two children lost their lives.”
Schneider – a retired UPS worker – told cops he had three beers over two hours while at dinner with his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and two grandkids.
“This has cut to the root of his family.”
Sigmund Golabek and Mya Golabek are pictured.Facebook / Jennifer Cisecki Golabek
Cunningham also read from a letter written by the dad of the kids and his son-in-law pleading for Schneider’s release.
“He’s been there for our family in ways that words cannot fully express. Our family is better because of him,” the letter read. “He’s a wonderful father-in-law, a loving grandfather and a man with a generous heart.”
“I’m grateful for the way he loved my children, the role he played in their lives and the example he set for them,” the letter continued.
Cunningham said both the son-in-law and Schneider’s daughter “are the victims and they are begging the court to release him.”
“They are still grieving, judge. And they need him out and he’s not a threat to anybody,” the defense attorney said.
Cunningham said Schneider was still in the hospital recovering from the injuries he sustained .
Schneider – a retired UPS worker – told cops he had three beers over two hours while at dinner with his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and two grandkids.Facebook / Siggy Golabek
The lawyer said there were things the defense needed to investigate like finding out if the buoy Schneider’s boat crashed into was lit or unlit that night. He also said he wanted his own expert to confirm Schneider’s BAC.
The incident unfolded on July 19 in Barnegat Bay near Berkeley Township after a family outing at MJ’s Restaurant in Bayville.
The grandkids, Mya Golabek, 9, and Sigmund Paul Golabek, 7, – who’d gone to the restaurant in their parents’ boat – headed to their grandparents’ house in Schneider’s boat afterward.
But Schneider’s 28-foot Tidewater 280 and the kids were thrown from the boat into the water. Despite wearing life vests, the siblings were found face-down.
Sigmund Golabek and Mya Golabek were described as “best friends” with a strong “sibling bond.”Facebook / Jennifer Cisecki Golabek
Schneider and his wife performed CPR, and they children were taken to the hospital where they died.
Schneider – who is facing two counts of reckless death by vessel and related charges – is due back in court on Sept. 15.
Schneider, who Cunningham said worked with the USP for 38 years, lives in a $1 million three-bedroom, two-bath waterfront home in Bayville, Ocean County.
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