A granddad who is accused of dropping his baby granddaughter from a cruise ship window has been charged with negligent homicide.
Salvatore Anello allegedly dropped Chloe Wiegand, 18 months, from the 11th floor of Freedom of the Seas vessel when it was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 7.
The tot had been travelling with her parents and four grandparents when the tragedy occurred, reports Metro.pr.
Speaking after the accident, Anello said she had asked to be picked up in his arms before he placed her on a window thinking it was covered.
Chloe's parents, Alan and Kimberly, from Indiana, previously slammed the cruise ship for leaving the window open for "ventilation".
The Freedom of the Seas has a height of around 210ft and the 11th floor will have been around 150ft above land level when the vessel was docked.
It holds around 4,000 passengers and was ending a seven-day Southern Caribbean cruise of Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados at the time of the tragedy.
Judge Jimmy Sepulveda, of the San Juan Investigation Chamber, set Anello's bond at $80,000 and he is due to appear in court on November 20.
Investigators believe the grandfather was playing with the young girl shortly before she fell.
According to El Vocero , Mr Anello, as well as his wife, son-in-law Alan Wiegalnd and Chloe's paternal grandparents, all had to be sedated by medics following the tragic incident.
In an obituary, Chloe was described as a girl who loved to laugh, smile and throw kisses, even at strangers, reports CT News .
"She could get anybody to smile,'' Chloe's mother said in a previous interview.
"Her first word was 'Hi.' I mean, she loved people."
