YORK HAVEN, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from May 2021.
Robert King, 47, of Duncannon, has been charged with homicide by watercraft, involuntary manslaughter, two counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of recklessly operating a watercraft, following the death of his wife, according to court documents.
In October, Christina Elaine King, 42, was one of three people who were fishing near the York Haven Hydro Station, on the Susquehanna River, when their boat capsized sending all three people into the water. She died as a result of the incident.
At the time of the incident, Robert King told police that his boat was anchored before the discharge, but during the course of the investigation, police discovered that King had taken Percocet before taking the boat out, and had driven too close to the discharge, causing the boat to be sucked underwater.
Percocet, a narcotic, has a warning label that says "to use care when operating a vessel," according to the affidavit.
He told police that he realized that the boat was drifting towards the discharge, so he put it in reverse, causing the rear of the boat to be pulled down and thus capsize.
King was able to grab his child and swim to a nearby island. He claimed to swim out to his wife, but was unable to get to her.
After a review of photos and videos, police found that King drove into the discharge. Witnesses also claimed that the boat came across the water from the Falmouth boat launch and was never anchored in one spot.
"It was confirmed that the angle and speed with which King entered the discharge would not have been from drifting," Sean Lake, the Waterways Conservation officer, wrote in the affidavit.
After being shown the video himself during an interview, King told police, "clearly, I'm driving it."
King has a preliminary hearing at 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 21.