Salvatore Anello, the man who pleaded guilty last year in connection with the fatal fall of his 1-year-old granddaughter from a cruise ship, was sentenced to three years probation, Puerto Rican authorities announced Monday. Anello was accused of negligent homicide in the death of Chloe Wiegand, who fell more than 30 meters from the window of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in July 2019.
Wiegand fell from the moored ship after Anello held her against what he said was a set of closed windows and she slipped from his hands. Surveillance video obtained by CBS News showed moments before the fatal crash, in which Wiegand ran to the windows with Anello behind her. Anello can then be seen taking it and holding it over the parapet.
Anello said repeatedly that he only held it because he believed there was glass and that he would never have done it otherwise.
“The moment the accident happened, it was as if that protective glass wall had disappeared,” he told CBS News earlier. “I was in total disbelief … I wasn’t drinking and I wasn’t hanging it out of a window. I just wanted to hit the glass with it like we did together so many times before … I was put in charge of keeping my beautiful granddaughter safe and I failed. “
Wiegand’s family did not press charges. But he was charged with negligent homicide by prosecutors in Puerto Rico, where the ship was moored at the time of Wiegand’s death.
Anello originally pleaded not guilty to the charges. But after months of legal battles, he agreed to plead guilty in October 2020.
“This decision was incredibly difficult for Sam and his family, but since the plea bargain does not include a prison sentence or admission of facts, it was decided that the plea bargain is in the family’s best interest so that they can close this horrible chapter and focus on mourning Chloe and fighting for the safety of cruise passengers, “said the family’s lawyer at the time.
The Wiegand family sued Royal Caribbean, claiming that the company failed to “provide reasonably safe children’s play areas, including reasonably secure windows”. A family lawyer previously told CBS News that the ship did not meet safety standards and should have been equipped with fall prevention window screens, screens and a device that would prevent the window from opening more than ten centimeters. The company denies the charges.
David Begnaud contributed reporting.