Crime & Safety
Indiana Grandfather Charged In Toddler's Cruise Ship Death
An attorney says the charges are "pouring salt" in the wounds of the family of 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — An attorney for the Indiana family of an 18-month-old girl who fell to her death from a cruise ship says Puerto Rican prosecutors' decision to charge her grandfather with negligent homicide is "pouring salt" on the family's wounds.
A judge in Puerto Rico on Monday ordered the arrest of Salvatore Anello after prosecutors submitted evidence saying Chloe Wiegand fell from the ship in July when Anello raised her up to an open window.
The family's attorney, Michael Winkleman, said in a statement the girl's death "was a tragic accident" and that "these criminal charges are pouring salt on the open wounds of this grieving family."
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Winkleman has said Chloe asked her grandfather to lift her up so she could bang on the glass in a children's play area, and he blamed the cruise operator for leaving the window open.
The family from Indiana was aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.
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Anello is being held on $80,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 20.
Related: Attorney: Family 'Needs Answers' In Toddler's Cruise Ship Death