CRUISE SHIP TRAGEDY: Judge Charged Grandfather with Homicide

The grandfather who dropped his granddaughter off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in Puerto Rico has been charged with negligent homicide.

The tragic incident happened in July when Salvatore Anello accidentally dropped 19-month-old Chloe Wiegand out of an 11th floor window on the “Freedom of the Seas” as it was docked in San Juan. Anello says the little girl slipped out of his arms as he held her near an open window. Other conflicting reports suggested he dangled her out of the window, but the family disputes that.

Chloe’s parents claim the cruise ship was negligent in leaving the large window open and plan to file a lawsuit shortly. Anello is due to appear in a San Juan court on November 20th. (USA Today)

Hot Takes:

  • This poor family. How awful this has been.
  • The grandfather may certainly have been negligent, but it was an accident.
  • Investigators and lawyers definitely need to continue looking into why there was a big open window on the top deck of the ship and why they were allowed to be near it.