THEY THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A RIDE HOME… THEN TWO CHILDREN NEVER CAME BACK

Jennifer Golabek thought her two children were simply heading back to their grandparents’ home after a family dinner.

Instead, 9-year-old Mya and 7-year-old Sigmund Golabek would never make it home.

On July 19, the siblings chose to ride with their grandfather, 64-year-old Stephen Schneider, aboard his boat after the family gathered for dinner at MJ’s Restaurant in Bayville, New Jersey.

Around 9 p.m., Schneider’s boat struck an Intracoastal Waterway channel marker in the darkness of Barnegat Bay.

The impact threw both children into the water.

They were wearing life jackets.

Schneider and his wife pulled the children from the bay and began CPR, but both siblings later died at the hospital.

“I ONLY HAD THREE BEERS”

According to court documents, Schneider told investigators he had consumed three beers over roughly two hours at the restaurant — two Guinness beers and a Miller Lite.

But prosecutors presented a very different picture of his condition.

A blood test taken after the crash showed a BAC of approximately 0.16% — twice New Jersey’s legal limit of 0.08%.

Prosecutors argued that the result demonstrated the degree of impairment under which Schneider allegedly chose to operate the boat.

Schneider has been charged with two counts of reckless vessel homicide/death by vessel, along with operating a vessel under the influence and reckless operation.

THE HEARTBREAKING TWIST

Now, despite the devastating loss, Mya and Sigmund’s parents have asked the court to release Schneider from custody.

During Wednesday’s detention hearing, his attorney read a letter from the children’s father describing Schneider as a loving grandfather and father-in-law who had always been there for the family.

The judge ultimately granted Schneider conditional release.

He is prohibited from operating a boat or motor vehicle while undergoing a court-ordered assessment, and his next court appearance is scheduled for September 15.

TWO CHILDREN. ONE FAMILY. ONE NIGHT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING.

Mya and Sigmund were siblings who shared a bond their family described as incredibly close.

They went to dinner with their family.

They decided to ride home with their grandparents.

And within minutes, a nighttime boat trip became a tragedy that their family will carry forever.

The legal case will now focus on what happened that night — the alcohol consumed, the boat’s operation, the channel marker and the decisions made before the crash.

But for their parents, the most painful question may never have a simple answer:

How can a normal family evening end with two children never coming home?

Schneider has been charged but not convicted. The allegations against him remain matters for the court to determine.