NJ grandfather rejects 10-year plea deal in DUI boat crash that killed 2 grandchildren

Stephen Schneider, 64, appeared in Ocean County Superior Court Tuesday, where his lawyers said a plea deal was still "a long time coming." The crash on July 19 killed his two grandchildren.

New Jersey grandfather declines plea offer in fatal drunken boating case

A 64-year-old New Jersey man accused of killing two of his grandchildren in a drunken boating crash rejected a 10-year prison plea offer at a court hearing Tuesday, NY Post Metro reports.

Stephen Schneider, a retired postal worker from Berkley Township, appeared in Ocean County Superior Court in Toms River, where his defense attorneys argued that discovery materials had not yet been fully provided and that no deal could be seriously considered at this stage.

"We're waiting patiently for most of the discovery, and it's going to be a long time coming," said defense attorney William Cunningham.

Prosecutors had offered Schneider two consecutive five-year sentences on death-by-vessel charges stemming from the July 19 crash, in which he allegedly drove his 30-foot Tidewater 280 center-console motorboat into a channel marker on the waterway in Berkley Township. His wife and two grandchildren — Mya Bella Golabek, 9, and Sigmund Paul Golabek, 7 — were aboard, returning from a family dinner. Both children were thrown from the vessel and died despite wearing life jackets.

Schneider turned himself in to Berkley Township police shortly after the 9 p.m. crash. Prosecutors have stated his blood-alcohol content was 0.16, double the legal limit of 0.08.

At Tuesday's hearing, assistant prosecutor Christopher Heisler acknowledged the plea offer may have been premature, citing outstanding evidence including an autopsy report and a pending Coast Guard review of the waterway.

"So I concur with counsel that it's going to be some period of time," Heisler said, adding that many police reports had already been turned over to the defense.

Schneider's son — father of the two deceased children — publicly called for his father's release in August.

Schneider has been on pre-trial monitoring since being released following his arrest. His next court date is scheduled for November 16.

Source: NY Post Metro