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Grandfather Pleads Guilty in Toddler's Fatal Fall on Cruise Ship, Family Supports Him

Sam Anello pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in connection with the October 2019 death of 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand

The grandfather who accidentally lost control of his toddler granddaughter on a cruise ship last year, causing her to fall more than 10 stories to her death, pleaded guilty Thursday to negligent homicide.

Sam Anello was charged with negligent homicide in connection with the October 2019 death of 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand . The girl fell out a window onto a concrete dock while in the children’s play area of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, which was docked in Puerto Rico.

A San Juan judge accepted Anello’s plea. He will be sentenced Dec. 10, NBC News reports.

In agreeing to the plea deal, Anello will avoid any jail time and will be able to serve probation in South Bend, Indiana, where he lives.

"This decision was an incredibly difficult one for Sam and the family, but because the plea agreement includes no jail time and no admission of facts, it was decided the plea deal is in the best interests of the family so that they can close this horrible chapter and turn their focus to mourning Chloe and fighting for cruise passenger safety by raising awareness about the need for all common carriers to adhere to window fall prevention laws designed to protect children from falling from windows," Michael Winkleman, an attorney for the family, said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

In a statement from the Puerto Rican Department of Justice previously obtained by PEOPLE, prosecutors alleged that Anello “negligently exposed the child to the abyss through a window on the 11th floor” of the cruise ship while it was docked in San Juan.

Anello and his family have long maintained that Chloe’s fall was an accident and not a crime.

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Anello has said he was holding Chloe against a railing next to what he thought was a bank of closed windows in a children’s play area. But she slipped from his grasp, falling through an open window onto a dock below.

“I was focused on Chloe the whole time I was with her,” he said in a February statement. “As I walked with her I also saw that the ship deck was surrounded by a wall of glass. In my experience, any elevated public place I’ve been with that much glass has always been a protective barrier. …From my point of view, at the moment the accident happened, it was as if this wall of protective glass disappeared. I was in complete disbelief.”

“It was a nightmare of the likes I could never have imagined before,” he continued. “I wasn’t drinking and I wasn’t dangling her out of a window. I just wanted to knock on the glass with her as we did together so many times before. I was just so horribly wrong about our surroundings. I was placed in charge of keeping my beautiful granddaughter safe and I failed. It will always be a constant nightmare every day and every night for the rest of my life.”

The family has filed a civil lawsuit against Royal Caribbean. Winkleman called Chloe’s death a "tragic, preventable accident."

“We will continue the fight for justice for Chloe and to hold Royal Caribbean accountable for its brazen failure to follow the standards designed precisely to prevent children from falling out of windows," Winkleman said.

Royal Caribbean could not be reached for comment.

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Grandfather of toddler who died on cruise ship explains why he's pleading guilty

The grandfather of a 1-year-old girl who fell to her death from an open window on a cruise ship last year has spoken out about the "constant nightmare" he is experiencing, after announcing plans to plead guilty to a charge of negligent homicide in her death.

Salvatore "Sam" Anello issued a statement Tuesday describing his anguish after his 18-month-old granddaughter, Chloe Wiegand, fell through an open window on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in July.

"I was placed in charge of keeping my beautiful granddaughter safe and I failed,'' he said. "It will always be a constant nightmare every day and every night for the rest of my life.

"I took a plea deal today to try to help end part of this nightmare for my family, if possible."

Anello filed paperwork to change his plea in return for an agreement that included no jail time, according to Michael Winkleman, the attorney for the Wiegand family. Anello, who lives in South Bend, Indiana, will be able to serve his probation in Indiana, Winkleman told NBC News.

Anello also expressed his hope that precautions will be taken to prevent another tragedy. Wiegand fell out of an 11th-story window on July 7 after Anello placed her near an open window he thought was closed.

"Going forward, justice for Chloe must include attention being given to provide the safety measures so very needed on Freedom of the Sea,'' he said in his statement. "We need to make sure nothing like this will ever happen to another precious baby, or anyone else for that matter, ever again."

He also thanked the many strangers who have sent words of comfort from around the world and shared tragic stories of their own about losing a child in an accident.

Anello also recounted the sequence of events on that fatal day.

"As I walked with her I also saw that the ship deck was surrounded by a wall of glass,'' he said. "In my experience, any elevated public place I've been with that much glass has always been a protective barrier.

"... From my point of view, at the moment the accident happened, it was as if this wall of protective glass disappeared. I was in complete disbelief. It was a nightmare of the likes I could never have imagined before. I wasn't drinking and I wasn't dangling her out of a window. I just wanted to knock on the glass with her as we did together so many times before. I was just so horribly wrong about our surroundings."

He remains grateful for the support of Chloe's parents, saying it "has been beyond overwhelming." They said on TODAY in July that they do not blame him for what happened.

"He was extremely hysterical,'' Kimberly Wiegand said. "The thing that he has repeatedly told us is, 'I believed that there was glass.' He will cry over and over and over. At no point ever, ever has Sam ever put our kids in danger.

"(He's) very, very distraught. You can barely look at him without him crying. She was his best friend."

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Grandfather of child who plunged to death from cruise ship doesn't want plea deal

The family's lawyer says he maintains he is innocent.

Salvatore Anello, the grandfather who has been charged with negligent homicide in the death of his 18-month-old granddaughter after she fell from a cruise ship, appeared in a Puerto Rico courtroom Tuesday morning for a status hearing in the case against him.

Amid reports that the defense had rejected a plea deal from the prosecution that would allow Anello to avoid prison time, defense attorney Jose Perez told ABC News "the parties have talked about an agreement in general terms but nothing specific and nothing on paper."

Perez said that Anello does not want a plea deal: "He is firm that he is innocent."

MORE: Harrowing surveillance video captures 1-year-old's fatal fall off cruise ship

Prosecutor Ivette Nieves told reporters outside of the courtroom Tuesday that the prosecution had not contemplated a plea deal, but they have also not discarded the idea.

Anello’s defense told the court that they will be presenting experts that will analyze the scene and his medical records will be provided as well as testimony from his doctor. The defense is expected to provide the names of experts they plan to call to the court on Jan. 17.

Perez told reporters after court that he was still awaiting information and additional documents from the prosecution.

Chloe Wiegand, an 18-month-old from Indiana, was traveling with her grandparents and parents on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas when she fell to her death in July as the ship was docked in San Juan.

Chloe was with her grandfather in the children's water park play area when her grandfather put her on a wood railing in front of a wall of glass windows, according to attorney Michael Winkleman.

Winkleman said the grandfather put Chloe on the railing thinking she'd bang on the glass. However, the window was open and she was "gone," Winkleman said in July, calling her death a "tragic accident that was preventable."

MORE: Parents sue Royal Caribbean for negligence after 1-year-old daughter falls to her death

The family has also filed suit against Royal Caribbean, alleging negligence in leaving the window open.

Speaking about Anello, Perez said that coming back to the island for each hearing is hard for him emotionally.

Nieves also said they are moving toward putting the case to trial.

Another status hearing in the case will be held on Jan. 27.

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Grandfather sam anello, who dropped toddler from cruise ship, pleads guilty to homicide.

The Indiana grandfather accused of fatally dropping his 18-month-old granddaughter from an 11th-floor cruise ship window pleaded guilty to negligent homicide.

Salvatore “Sam” Anello admitted blame in the July 2019 death of Chloe Wiegand after she fell roughly 150-feet from an open window as she slipped from his hands on a Royal Caribbean ship docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The 51-year-old grandpa said earlier this year that he planned to change his earlier not guilty plea to end “this nightmare” for his family.

His lawyer Michael Winkleman said that the plea would be made in exchange for a no-jail-time sentence. Anello — who is set to be sentenced on Dec. 10 — is expected to serve a term of probation from his South Bend, Indiana, home.

“We have found justice for Chloe,” Puerto Rico prosecutor Laura Hernández said.

“This decision was an incredibly difficult one for Sam and the family, but because the plea agreement includes no jail time and no admission of facts, it was decided the plea deal is in the best interests of the family so that they can close this horrible chapter and turn their focus to mourning Chloe and fighting for cruise passenger safety,” Winkleman said in a statement.

Anello has maintained that he didn’t realize the window was open when he raised Wiegand up inside a play area.

“I wasn’t drinking and I wasn’t dangling her out of a window,” he previously said.

The family filed a negligence lawsuit against the Royal Caribbean last year. That case is still ongoing.

“Why in the world did Royal Caribbean allow this window to be opened, without any warning, just steps from a children’s play area, 150 feet off the ground?” Winkleman said.

“Sadly, all of the discovery and evidence taken so far in the case confirms that this was a tragic, preventable accident and that there are absolutely no grounds to bring criminal charges against Sam Anello,” Winkleman’s statement continued.

But the cruise line has said that surveillance video showed Anello leaning out of the window before he lifted the tot for over 30 seconds. The family says Anello wouldn’t have been able to physically lean out that way.

A rep with Royal Caribbean deferred to the prosecutors’ comments adding, “Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.”

With Post wires

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Grandfather of toddler who died in cruise ship fall is pleading guilty to end 'nightmare'

The grandfather of an 18-month-old girl who fell to her death from an open window on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said he plans to plead guilty so his family can begin to move on .

"I took a plea deal today to try to help end part of this nightmare for my family, if possible," Salvatore Anello said in a statement Tuesday, after a family attorney announced the grandfather's intention to change his plea.

Anello, also known as Sam, initially pleaded not guilty to a negligent homicide charge from Puerto Rican authorities in October in the death of Chloe Wiegand in July.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news

Michael Winkleman, the attorney for the Wiegand family, told NBC News on Tuesday that Anello filed paperwork to change his plea in return for an agreement that included no jail time. Anello, who lives in South Bend, Indiana, will be able to serve his probation in the state, according to Winkleman.

Winkleman said the deal "is in the best interests of the family so that they can close this horrible chapter and turn their focus to mourning Chloe."

Anello thanked his family for sticking by his side.

"The support they continue to give me has been beyond overwhelming and I can't tell you how grateful I am for them," he said, adding that justice for Chloe should include bringing attention to the need for more safety measures on Freedom of the Seas, the cruise ship from which the toddler fell.

"We need to make sure nothing like this will ever happen to another precious baby, or anyone else for that matter, ever again," Anello said.

A hearing date for the change of plea has yet to be determined.

The Wiegand family filed a federal civil action in December against Royal Caribbean Cruises, alleging that the company was at fault for the accident. A judge approved the suit this month after Royal Caribbean sought to block it.

Chloe was with her mother in a children's water park area on the pool's 11th deck. When her mother had to tend to another matter, Anello came to supervise her, according to the family's lawsuit.

"Mr. Anello was closely supervising Chloe as she played," the suit says. When "Chloe walked over to a nearby wall of glass on the same deck," her grandfather followed her, it says.

The family has claimed that Anello put Chloe up to the window to bang on the glass when she slipped from his hands through the window, falling to her death from the ship's 11th story.

Anello has insisted that he believed that the window was enclosed by glass although it turned out to be open. He reiterated this in his statement Tuesday.

"In my experience, any elevated public place I've been with that much glass has always been a protective barrier," he said in his statement. "From my point of view, at the moment the accident happened, it was as if this wall of protective glass disappeared. I was in complete disbelief. It was a nightmare of the likes I could never have imagined before."

He added: "I wasn't drinking and I wasn't dangling her out of a window. I just wanted to knock on the glass with her as we did together so many times before. I was just so horribly wrong about our surroundings."

Anello said he feels like he failed to keep Chloe safe and it's a "constant nightmare" that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

In November, he told CBS there were no signs indicating that the windows were open. He also said he is colorblind, which he said may have been why he couldn't distinguish between the tinted closed windows and the open window.

Chloe's parents, Kim and Alan Wiegand, said on "TODAY" after her death last summer that they hoped to bring awareness and ensure that such an accident doesn't happen to another family.

"We obviously blame them for not having a safer situation on the 11th floor of that cruise ship," Kim Wiegand said. "There are a million things that could've been done to make that safer."

Royal Caribbean didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Doha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she/her.

Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.

Xuan Thai is a producer for NBC News based in Miami. She previously covered the White House and Congress. 

Watch CBS News

Video shows girl's final moments with grandfather before cruise ship death

November 21, 2019 / 7:26 AM EST / CBS News

New surveillance video shown to CBS News reveals the final moments before an 18-month-old girl fell to her death off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Chloe Wiegand was being held by her grandfather Salvatore Anello while the ship was docked in Puerto Rico in July.

Prosecutors have charged Anello with negligent homicide. He appeared in court Wednesday and was expected back in court on Dec. 17.

The video, which has not been released publicly, will be a key piece of evidence in the criminal trial, CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reports. The video shows what appears to be 18-month-old Chloe cross over to the side of the ship and stand in front of a bank of windows. A man attorneys said is Anello is seen following her.

There was a railing about a foot from the windows, Michael Winkleman, the Wiegand family's attorney said. The surveillance video appears to show Anello look over the railing for one second.

He then reaches down, picks Chloe up and appears to hold her over the railing. Winkleman said Anello didn't realize there was no glass directly in front of him. Within five seconds Chloe falls more than 100 feet below.

"She's sitting on the wooden banister, why did he then lean forward with her?" Begnaud asked Winkleman.

"I think it's pretty obvious why they leaned forward, and that would be so that you could get a better view," Winkleman said.

"What do you say to the fact that he raised her and put her on this banister which the cruise line might argue was not meant for young children to be sitting on?" Begnaud asked.

"If that was the case and they want no one to sit on it, they should say no one should sit on it. … There's no sign that says that. There's no warning, no nothing," Winkleman said.

"It may be hard for some people to believe that the grandpa didn't know that that section of the window was open. … How did he know that there was glass?" Begnaud asked.

"The only way that you can prove or disprove anything that Sam said is based on the video and based on his testimony … Those are the only pieces of evidence you have," Winkleman said. "There were no eye witnesses. There's no one who's come forward to tell any different story. … So all you have is Sam's testimony, his story and the video."

After Chloe fell out of the window, Anello drops to his knees, according to Winkleman, and he yelled out loud, "I just dropped my child. I thought there was glass! I thought there was glass!"

Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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