FROM WATERFRONT LUXURY TO AN OCEAN COUNTY JAIL CELL: GRANDFATHER FACES HOMICIDE CHARGES AFTER DEADLY BOAT CRASH

A summer evening on the Jersey Shore ended in unimaginable tragedy for one family.

Now, nearly a month after the crash, 64-year-old Stephen Schneider has surrendered to police and been charged in connection with the deaths of his two young grandchildren.

THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED

The crash happened on July 19, 2026, at approximately 9:09 p.m. in the Berkeley Township area of Barnegat Bay.

Schneider was operating a 30-foot Tidewater Custom 280 when the vessel struck an Intracoastal Waterway channel marker.

The impact sent his grandchildren, 9-year-old Mya Bella Golabek and 7-year-old Sigmund Paul Golabek, into the water.

Schneider and his wife, who was also aboard the boat, helped recover the children from the water.

Both were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

NOW, SCHNEIDER FACES HOMICIDE CHARGES

On Friday, August 14, Schneider voluntarily surrendered at the Berkeley Township Police Department.

He was taken into custody and lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a future court hearing.

According to police records, Schneider faces:

Two counts of second-degree reckless vessel homicide

Operating a vessel under the influence

Reckless operation of a vessel

Authorities allege that Schneider was impaired by alcohol when the crash occurred. His blood-alcohol concentration has not been publicly disclosed.

THE WATERFRONT LIFE HE LEFT BEHIND

Public records cited in recent reports place Schneider in a waterfront Bayville property valued at approximately $1 million.

That detail has drawn attention because of the extraordinary contrast between the life he had been living and where he now finds himself: an Ocean County jail cell while facing serious criminal charges.

But his financial circumstances have no bearing on whether the allegations are true.

The central issue for prosecutors is what happened on the water that night — and whether Schneider’s alleged impairment and operation of the boat amounted to criminally reckless conduct.

TWO CHILDREN WHO NEVER CAME HOME

Mya and Sigmund were siblings from Lacey, New Jersey.

Their family described them as extremely close, with a bond that went far beyond simply being brother and sister.

Their deaths have left relatives and the local community mourning two children whose lives ended during what should have been a family outing on the bay.

QUESTIONS STILL SURROUND THE CRASH

The initial investigation did not immediately establish why the boat struck the channel marker.

Officials had previously said the investigation remained ongoing.

The later charges now provide a significant new development: authorities allege alcohol impairment played a role in the crash.

Still, an accusation is not a conviction.

Schneider will have the opportunity to respond to the charges through the court process.

 ONE BOAT RIDE.

 TWO CHILDREN LOST.

FOUR SERIOUS CHARGES.

AND A GRANDFATHER NOW BEHIND BARS.

What began as a nighttime boating accident has become a criminal case that could follow Schneider for years.

For Mya and Sigmund’s family, however, the legal process can never change the most painful fact:

Two children went out on the water — and never came home.

Independent commentary based on publicly reported information. Criminal charges are allegations and do not constitute a finding of guilt.