Salvatore Anello, the man who pleaded guilty last year in connection with the fatal fall of a cruise nest from his one-year-old granddaughter, has been sentenced to three years of parole, according to Puerto Rico. announced Monday. Ring was charged with manslaughter for negligence on the death of Chloe Wiegand, who fell more than 100 feet from a Royal Caribbean cruise window in July 2019.
Wiegand fell from the docked ship after Anello held her against what he said was a set of closed windows and slipped from her hands. The surveillance video obtained by CBS News showed the moments before the fatal fall, in which Wiegand ran to the windows with Anello behind him. Anello could be seen picking her up and grabbing her over the railing.
Anello said repeatedly that he only held it because he believed there was glass and would never have done it any other way.
“By the time the accident occurred, it was as if that protective glass wall was disappearing,” he previously told CBS News. “I was totally disbelieving … I didn’t drink or hang her by a window. I just wanted to call the glass with her, as 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 file any charges. But prosecutors charged him with manslaughter for negligence in Puerto Rico, where the ship was berthed 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 the family, but as the lawsuit agreement does not include jail time or the admission of facts, it was decided that the lawsuit agreement is in the best interest of the family so they can close this horrible chapter and focus on Chloe’s grief and the fight for the safety of cruise passengers, ”the family’s attorney said at the time.
Wiegand’s family has sued Royal Caribbean alleging that the company has not provided “reasonably safe children’s entertainment areas, including reasonably safe windows.” A family attorney previously told CBS News that the ship did not comply with safety regulations and should have been fitted with fall prevention window protectors, screens and a device that would have prevented the window from opening. more than four inches. The company denies the allegations.
David Begnaud contributed to the reports.