Heartbroken Grandfather Who Dropped Toddler Off Cruise Ship Charged In Her Death
Oct. 29 2019, Updated 4:48 p.m. ET
The grandfather who accidentally dropped his 18-month-old granddaughter through the open window of a cruise ship is now being charged in connection to her death.
RadarOnline.com has learned a judge ordered Salvatore “Sam” Anello’s arrest this Monday, October 28, and he was charged with negligent homicide.
The charges come three months after Chloe Wiegand’s death.
On July 7, Kimberly Wiegand, husband Alan Wiegand and their daughter Chloe were on a family vacation with the baby’s grandparents when tragedy struck.
Sam was playing with the baby, leaning her up against the glass windows of the Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas cruise ship so she could see the view as they were docked in Puerto Rico.
They were on the 11th floor, and what the grandpa didn’t realize was that the window Chloe was leaning on was wide open.
Before he could save her, the little girl fell through the open window and died immediately upon hitting the concrete below.
Despite their heartbreak, Chloe’s parents never blamed Sam, and have now said that the criminal charges against him have only “poured salt on the wounds” for their family.
“He was extremely hysterical. The thing he repeatedly told us was, I believed there was glass. He would cry, over and over,” Kimberly told Savannah Guthrie after the incident. “At no point ever, ever, has Sam put our kids in any danger.”
“He was very, very distraught,” Alan added. “You can barely look at him without him crying. She was his best friend.”
Sam is being held on $80,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on November 20. He could face up to three years in prison if found guilty of causing Chloe's death.
Kimberly and Alan, meanwhile, are still holding the cruise company responsible for their child’s death, and considering taking legal action.
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