IN - Grandfather charged in cruise ship death of toddler Chloe Wiegand #3

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All the windows in voyager of the seas still open so that tells me RCCL remains confident.

Voyager has been through a refurbishment and I’ve noticed the chairs sit closer together creating a bit more of a barrier, it’s harder to get closer to the windows but still accessible.
View attachment 220655
I’m only using my phone and unfortunately many of the pics are too large to download. Sorry if some are sideways. More to come.
Great pix, thank you for taking time out of your lovely vacay to do this, although I am jealous now.

Looking at that 1st picture, it is even more shocking to me, to think he STOOD her up on that railing? That is unthinkable. Its is sooooooo close to the window. And so obvious it was open. ugghhhh
 

This dear little girl had to be seriously leaning out of that window in order to fall, if she was sitting on that wooden guardrail.

Your pics are great. They really present a very clear picture.

Any chance you will be sending them to all of the MSM in the US? :D
I think they need a reality check.
 
I am not sure that RCCL is that afraid of this lawsuit. I think it is possible that they have a few surprises up their sleeve themselves.

I know they have a large fleet of top notch attorneys with a lot of experience defending these kinds of accidents/deaths onboard. So they will be very prepared.

And they certainly have spoken to all of the witnesses and seen all of the available footage.

They will also have access to every moment that SA spent onboard that day, including any drinks he may have had. There will be video and receipts and testimony from bartenders, etc, if he had any thing to drink.

I am hoping that are able to take the jurors to the ship or at least have very large photos or videos, showing more clearly, the preposterous story the defense is trying to sell.
 
I wonder if he was looking around - maybe watching out that he wasn't going to get busted by his family having a smoke, or watching some pretty lady - and he just didn't have his eye on Chloe at all during that 20 secs or so. That's all it takes. Just a matter of seconds when a child is in a precarious position to begin with.

He did say that he at first thought she fell onto the floor. Maybe that is the truth, because he wasn't watching.
 
I wonder if he was looking around - maybe watching out that he wasn't going to get busted by his family having a smoke, or watching some pretty lady - and he just didn't have his eye on Chloe at all during that 20 secs or so. That's all it takes. Just a matter of seconds when a child is in a precarious position to begin with.

He did say that he at first thought she fell onto the floor. Maybe that is the truth, because he wasn't watching.
I think the interview I watched he said he saw her entire fall.
 
Looking at that space, it's obvious to me that if SA had Chloe sitting on the railing and she fell forward, she would land in the space between the railing and the window, hitting either her head or her chest on the windowsill. The only thing that makes sense is if he had her sitting in the windowsill; then, if she leaned forward, her center of gravity would be outside the window and she could fall. Somebody (MW?) says he placed her on the metal railing, but it's obvious from all pictures that the railing is made out of wood. The only thing that looks like a metal railing is the windowsill. Just thinking of him doing that, at that height, makes me queasy.
 
Thanks for the fabulous photos, they'll get you! Now that you've done your best for "the team", I hope you can relax and enjoy your cruise. Bon Voyage!

While I won't be on a RCCL ship, I plan to do some investigative work when I sail next month. I will be checking railing heights and distance from windows, whether or not windows can be opened by guests, signage on windows that open, etc. I really doubt that Princess' specs will be much different than Royal Caribbean, and I don't think the industry will alter their vessels because of one man's reckless actions that led to his grandchild's tragic death.
 
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Looking at that space, it's obvious to me that if SA had Chloe sitting on the railing and she fell forward, she would land in the space between the railing and the window, hitting either her head or her chest on the windowsill. The only thing that makes sense is if he had her sitting in the windowsill; then, if she leaned forward, her center of gravity would be outside the window and she could fall. Somebody (MW?) says he placed her on the metal railing, but it's obvious from all pictures that the railing is made out of wood. The only thing that looks like a metal railing is the windowsill. Just thinking of him doing that, at that height, makes me queasy.

Also she was still of the age when a child’s head is larger in proportion to rest of their body. All she had to do was fling her head toward the opening coupled with the fact that he is NOW saying he only had one hand on her ( so HE could bang on the glass).

MOO
 
I am not sure that RCCL is that afraid of this lawsuit. I think it is possible that they have a few surprises up their sleeve themselves.

I know they have a large fleet of top notch attorneys with a lot of experience defending these kinds of accidents/deaths onboard. So they will be very prepared.

And they certainly have spoken to all of the witnesses and seen all of the available footage.

They will also have access to every moment that SA spent onboard that day, including any drinks he may have had. There will be video and receipts and testimony from bartenders, etc, if he had any thing to drink.

I am hoping that are able to take the jurors to the ship or at least have very large photos or videos, showing more clearly, the preposterous story the defense is trying to sell.
Good point. Anyone follow the Amy Bradley case? She disappeared from the ship, family sued RC, who came back with their own arsenal of evidence... or at least, what they claimed as evidence. I say this because there were questions about it by Bradley supporters.

Family won nothing.
Though it was a very different type of case than this.
I guess my point is, I don’t see RC as the easy scapegoat type.
 
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SA has a hearing today, right?
Yes, there is supposed to be a hearing to set a trial date and also for SA to choose either a jury trial or a bench trial (judge alone). I had been wondering whether he would try to get a plea bargain, but I realize that it's practically impossible since he's backed himself into a corner. Any plea bargain would involve a guilty plea, basically an admission that he acted recklessly, yet both he and his family are adamant that it's the cruise line's fault. A guilty plea would seriously undermine the family's lawsuit against RCCL.
 
Yes, there is supposed to be a hearing to set a trial date and also for SA to choose either a jury trial or a bench trial (judge alone). I had been wondering whether he would try to get a plea bargain, but I realize that it's practically impossible since he's backed himself into a corner. Any plea bargain would involve a guilty plea, basically an admission that he acted recklessly, yet both he and his family are adamant that it's the cruise line's fault. A guilty plea would seriously undermine the family's lawsuit against RCCL.
I hope it goes to trial and the truth comes out. I want to hear what the eyewitnesses have to say. I want to hear about other camera evidence that they have. I want to hear how the colorblindness is an EXCUSE and has no bearing on this case.
 
I clicked on the link and the headline actually says:
Prosecutors offer plea deal to grandfather accused of dropping toddler to her death from cruise ship, sparing him jail if he accepts and pleads guilty
Grandfather accused of dropping toddler to her death from will try to prove his color blindness | Daily Mail Online
From the article:
  • Prosecutors offered him a plea deal on Tuesday, which he would have to admit guilt to receive no jail time, minimum probation and minimum supervision
  • Anello has said he didn't realize the window Chloe 'slipped' through was open
  • He is reportedly considering the plea deal but is leaning towards rejecting it and taking his case to trial
  • Last month, Anello claimed he didn't realize there wasn't any glass in the window pane because he is colorblind
  • His lawyers said on Tuesday they plan to present Anello's medical records and evidence on his health status, also indicating they would want a trial by jury
  • DailyMail.com previously revealed the last photo of Chloe moments before her death, standing beside a kids' splash pool wearing a pink swimming costume
  • Footage of the tragedy seen by DailyMail.com shows the moment Chloe fell, with Anello slumping to his knees and her mother recoiling in shock and collapsing
Why would SA decline the plea deal? The only thing that comes to mind is that it could impact the civil suit. Chloe's mom is/was a prosecutor and knows that such a plea would be for sparing SA jail time and not necessarily an admission of guilt within the family.

So... is SA being encouraged to go to trial? The colorblind stuff is only going to take him so far. Is he and the family willing to take the gamble?

Also, David Begnaud on Twitter
 
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