The grandfather of a toddler who fell to her death on a cruise ship in July has been charged with negligent homicide in her death, Puerto Rican authorities said.
Salvatore Anello was playing with the girl, Chloe Wiegand, on the 11th floor near a window while the ship was docked in Puerto Rico.
According to CNN , an attorney for the Indiana family has said Anello sat the girl on rails near the open window, thinking it was closed. Prosecutors allege that Anello “negligently exposed [his granddaughter] through one of the windows,” according to a statement from the Puerto Rican Department of Justice.
The San Juan judge “found cause for arrest against the accused, and imposed a bail of $80,000,” the governor’s office said.
Here’s more from ABC News:
The criminal charges are “pouring salt on the open wounds of this grieving family,” said Michael Winkleman, an attorney representing the family in a civil suit he’s preparing against Royal Caribbean.
Chloe’s parents blamed the cruise line company, Royal Caribbean, after the accident, saying the window shouldn’t have been open. The are now suing.
Royal Caribbean still haven’t released surveillance footage of the area where the incident occurred but they did say they were “deeply saddened” by the incident, and that they had “assisted the authorities in San Juan with their inquiries.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 20.
