Grandfather of toddler who fatally fell from cruise ship window charged
A grandfather who police claim dropped his granddaughter from the 11th floor of a cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico has been accused of negligent homicide.
A judge has issued the arrest of Salvatore Anello after prosecutors submitted evidence and said the 2-year-old fell to her demise when he raised her up to an open window in July.
An attorney for the family revealed that Chloe Wiegand asked her grandfather to lift her up so she can bang on the glass in the children’s play area. Salvatore places the blame on the cruise company, saying they shouldn’t have left the window open.
The Indiana family was travelling on the Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas.
Speaking to NBC’s Today Show in July, Chloe’s mother Kimberley Wiegand said that her family will sue Royal Caribbean Cruises for “not having a safer situation on the 11th floor of that cruise ship.”
Michael Winkleman, the family’s attorney, challenged a Puerto Rico police report that claimed Chloe’s grandfather dropped the toddler out of a window on July 7 when the ship was docked.
"There's no doubt this was an accident," Winkleman said.
"Really the singular question is, were there safety measures that could have been in place and should have been in place? If they were in place, again, there would have been no tragedy."
Anello is currently being held on $80,000 bond and will appear in court on November 20.