Hysterical grandad ‘had to be sedated after dropping toddler to her death from Royal Caribbean ship window’ – The Sun
A GRANDAD who dropped his 18-month-old grandaughter 150ft to her death from a cruise ship was so hysterical he had to be sedated, reports claim.
Chloe Wiegand plummeted 11 floors after allegedly slipping through the hands of Salvatore Anello on Sunday evening.
The 18-month-old is believed to have fallen onto concrete below while the ship Freedom of the Seas was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
And it has now been claimed Mr Anello dropped his grandaughter after lifting her up to the window as he played with her.
Elmer Román, from the Department of Public Security, told Primera Hora early investigations suggested the grandfather took her to the edge as part of a “game”.
Mr Anello and several other family members were so hysterical after the child’s tragic death plunge that they had to be sedated by medics, according to El Vocero.
CRIES OF AGONY
Witnesses told how they heard the family, from Indiana, US, wailing in agony after Chloe fell to her death.
One passenger told Telemundo PR: “We heard the screams of the families because we were close.
“A cry of pain of that nature does not compare with any other cry.”
Puerto Rico Ports Authority spokesman José Carmona said the family was gathered in or near a dining hall on the 11th floor and that the grandfather sat the toddler on the edge of a window.
He said officials are investigating whether the window was already opened or if someone had opened it.
Police are probing the incident but say early indications suggest the toddler died as a result of a tragic accident.
FACING CHARGES
It is not clear whether Mr Anello or anyone else will be prosecuted over Chloe’s death, with cops quizzing witnesses and reviewing CCTV before deciding whether to file negligence charges.
Henry Escalera Rivera, Commissioner of the Police Bureau, told Prima Hora: “This is a process that is under investigation.
“We must wait to interview relatives and evaluate other evidence to determine if the filing of charges is appropriate.”
But the family’s lawyer has hit back denying the girl was dangled out the window and pinning blame for the tragedy on Royal Caribbean cruise line.
The doting grandfather placed the girl on a railing that he believed was behind glass, Michael Winkleman told NBC.
HITTING BACK
Little Chloe loved to look through windows and would often bang on the glass while watching her big brother play ice hockey, the family revealed.
But for some reason one of the panes of glass in the children’s play area where the family were gathered was not there, Winkleman claimed.
The lawyer said: "Essentially her grandfather lifts her up and puts her on a railing and where he thinks that there is glass there because it's clear, but it turns out there was no glass there.
"She goes to bang on the glass like she would have at one of those hockey rinks, and the next thing you know, she's gone."
He added: "Why in the world would you leave a window open in an entire glass wall full of windows in a kid's area?"
Devastated mum Kimberley Schultz Wiegand posted pictures of herself with her little girl on Facebook in the wake of the tragedy.
Friends and family paid tribute, leaving comments like: “Sweet angel. Praying for you and your family Kim.”
Another wrote: “You are loved. Praying for you and your family. I'm so sorry.”
The child's father has been identified as police officer Alan Wiegand by the South Bend Police Department in Indiana.
Police chief Scott Ruszkowski disputed the statement issued by Puerto Rico police that the girl was being held out of the window.
The boat 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.
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