Video of toddler’s fatal cruise ship fall may factor in whether grandfather is convicted

A lawyer says video showing a northern Indiana grandfather at the moment he dropped his granddaughter from the 11th floor of a cruise ship appears to support the man’s statement that he thought the window was closed, reports the IndyStar, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.

“What I saw with the video, it’s pretty consistent with what my client has told me,” said José G. Pérez Ortiz, who represents Anello in the criminal case. “My client thought that the window was closed. Nothing in the video is inconsistent.”

Chloe Wiegand was in a play area on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship Freedom of the Seas as it was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 8 when she fell 115 feet to the ground.

Police initially said Anello told officers he lost his grip while holding the girl outside the window, the Associated Press reported.

Anello, through attorneys, has said he thought the window was closed when he lifted the girl to the railing so she could bang on the glass, like she did when her brother plays hockey.

Prosecutors in Puerto Rico charged Salvatore Anello last month with negligent homicide in the death of 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand, Anello’s granddaughter.

Anello, 51, of Valparaiso, “negligently exposed the child to the abyss through a window on the 11th floor of the cruise ship,” Puerto Rico Attorney General Dennise N. Longo Quiñones and other officials said in an Oct. 28 news release announcing the charge and Anello’s arrest.