The New Jersey grandpa accused of killing his own grandkids in a drunken boating accident declined to agree to a plea deal that would have seen him go to prison for 10 years – with defense attorneys insisting such talk was still “a long time coming.”
Stephen Schneider, 64, was offered five-year sentences, to run consecutively, for counts of two death-by-vessel during an Ocean County Superior Court hearing Tuesday.
Schneider is accused of killing his two grandchildren when he crashed his boat on July 19 in Berkley Township.
But Schneider’s defense balked at the offer, saying they weren’t in position yet to discuss a plea.
“We’re waiting patiently for most of the discovery and it’s going to be a long time coming,” defense attorney William Cunningham said.
Schneider turned himself in Berkley Township police after the 9 p.m. accident, where he allegedly plowed his 30-foot Tidewater 280 center-console motorboat into a channel marker while taking his two grandkids home from a family dinner.
The kids — Mya Bella Golabek, 9, Sigmund Paul Golabek, 7 – were thrown from the boat, and despite wearing life jackets were killed.
It was later revealed the retired postal worker was allegedly drunk – with prosecutors saying his blood alcohol was 0.16, twice the legal limit of 0.08.
Despite those allegations, Schneider’s son and the father of the deceased kids pleaded for his release in August before the request was granted.
