PROVIDENCE --Ryan A. Greenberg, 17, of Barrington was indicted today on a second-degree murder charge in the July boating death of Barrington High School classmate Patrick Murphy.

Murphy had disappeared the evening of July 17 while skimming on a kneeboard on the Barrington River towed by the boat driven by Greenberg, of 33 Lamson Rd., the authorities have said.

The statewide grand jury handed up an indictment that alleges "on or about that same date Greenberg operated a vessel in reckless disregard for the safety of others, with the death of Patrick Murphy ensuing as a proximate result of an injury received by such operation of the vessel, " Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office said in an afternoon news release.

The indictment also charges Greenberg with one count of operating a boat to endanger, death resulting, one count of refusal to take a chemical test, and one count of underage possession of alcohol.

Authorities alleged that on or about July 17, "having been offered the opportunity to submit to a chemical test by a member of the Rhode Island Environmental Police," Greenberg refused.

Greenberg will be arraigned in Providence County Superior Court on Jan. 2.

The charges of murder and boating to endanger, death resulting, are felonies. The two other charges are misdemeanors.

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch issued a statement this evening saying the grand jury heard testimony from 20 witnesses and saw 36 exhibits during its month-long investigation.

In indicting on the second-degree murder charge, the grand jury was "reasonably satisfied that Ryan Greenberg killed Patrick Murphy not with premeditation but with malice aforethought nonetheless," Lynch's statement said.

The state Supreme Court has ruled legal malice can happen from either "an express intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm, or from wanton recklessness.

"The grand jury found, and it will be my office’s burden to prove, that by allegedly operating the boat in the manner that he did, the defendant created a situation in which he could, to a very high degree of risk, either kill or seriously injure another person, even if he didn’t intend to do so."

Lynch said that Murphy “died needlessly, and his parents and family have been living every family’s worst nightmare every day since. This indictment is neither a message nor a statement to the defendant or the community. It is the product of an exhaustive investigation whose facts will emerge at the appropriate time in court. Obviously, an indictment is only a charge, and the case will move to Superior Court for its next phase.”

Greenberg has previously been cited by the state Department of Environmental Management with reckless boating and refusing to submit to a chemical test.

He was arraigned in late July on one state felony count of reckless operation, death resulting; a state misdemeanor count of refusing to take a Breathalyzer test on the night of Murphy's death; and a new count from Barrington police of underage possession of alcohol.

Divers found Murphy’s body below the surface around 2:45 p.m. July 18, about 100 yards north of the East Bay Bike Path bridge near the bridge at County Road.

The state Health Department said that Murphy, 17, of 15 Noble Ave., died from "blunt and sharp force injuries." He was not wearing a life vest while riding the kneeboard, authorities said.

Murphy was the son of John F. Murphy Jr. and Phoebe M. Murphy, the men’s and women’s crew coaches at Brown University.