A disturbing new detail is putting Stephen Schneider’s version of the fatal Barnegat Bay crash under renewed scrutiny. According to court documents, Schneider told investigators that he had consumed three beers over roughly two hours before taking the helm. However, a later blood test showed a 0.16% blood-alcohol concentration, about twice New Jersey’s legal limit for operating a vessel.

Investigators are now looking closely at whether his account of the evening matches the physical and toxicology evidence gathered after the crash. Schneider reportedly said he was traveling at approximately 20 mph and saw the illuminated channel marker only at the last second before the boat struck it. Authorities said the marker’s lights were functioning properly.

The impact threw 9-year-old Mya Bella Golabek and 7-year-old Sigmund Paul Golabek from the boat into the water. Both children were reportedly wearing life jackets. Schneider and his wife found them unresponsive and attempted to rescue them, but both were later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Another major development has now emerged: audio of the 911 call made immediately after the crash was released, capturing the desperate efforts to locate and rescue the children in the dark water. The recording provides another piece of evidence investigators can use when reconstructing those critical minutes.

The case is therefore no longer simply about what Schneider says happened. Investigators and prosecutors can compare his statements about alcohol consumption, speed, navigation and the moment he saw the marker against toxicology results, the functioning of the navigation marker, the crash scene and the emergency call.

Mya and Sigmund cannot tell investigators what happened during those final moments. That makes every surviving piece of evidence especially significant as the legal case against Schneider moves forward.

Schneider has been charged with two counts of reckless vessel homicide, operating a vessel under the influence and reckless operation of a vessel. He has pleaded not guilty, and the case remains pending.