IN - Grandfather charged in cruise ship death of toddler Chloe Wiegand #8

[IM2CYNICAL]

I just saw on La Comay’s FB page they are taking a poll. Do you think SA should plead guilty. So far 85% say Yes, 15% say No.

For those of us who were wondering, we now know the percentage of people who haven't seen the video. JMO

 

[al66pine]

Here's the local paper for the Wiegand's, no new statement from them yet

Grandfather charged in Granger girl's fall from cruise ship declines jury trial, will face judge

@Kindred Thanks for the link. Also from ^ Feb 24, article:
"He has also said he's not interested in a plea deal in his criminal case."
"Has also said."??? No stmt date was given. I wonder how recently SA said this.

 

[IM2CYNICAL]

I sure hope SA doesn't get probation served in Indiana if he's found guilty. I hope he gets jail time. He deserves it, and more.

I am glad to not be the only one peeved by them saying (If indeed they did) that if convicted he would be put on probation in Indiana. If Puerto Rico doesn't want him, how about letting the time be served in a Turkish prison?

 

[MsMarple]

Here's the local paper for the Wiegand's, no new statement from them yet

Grandfather charged in Granger girl's fall from cruise ship declines jury trial, will face judge

Interesting that SA has chosen a bench trial. He's in a tough position either way IMO as he's probably aware of current public opinion of him and would be taking a risk with jurors.

OTOH a judge will consider the law and how it applies in SA's case so maybe the defense attorney felt it to be a safer avenue. IMO a lot will hinge upon whether or not the judge swallows SA's excuse and even then there's also the question of negligence on his part simply for putting Chloe on the railing in the first place, open window or closed window. MOO.

 

[LietKynes]

I am glad to not be the only one peeved by them saying (If indeed they did) that if convicted he would be put on probation in Indiana. If Puerto Rico doesn't want him, how about letting the time be served in a Turkish prison?

Agreed.
SA doesn't exactly deserve to be 'comfy'.

 

[LietKynes]

dbm

 

[JulieBEMT]

Order of Arrival of Fam Members?
Thanks to @MsMarple for this link & quote in Nov 22-26 Daily Mail. It seems to describe events shown in video, not events as recounted by Winkleman, but well, who knows? AFAIK no vids of the Deck 11 aftermath, except for a few/several sec's following SA's collapse, have been released. No concrete arrival times were given, just "follows close behind" and "moments later." And the article gives no explanation as to why fam members arrived at/what brought them to the scene. Maybe another article did, but I do not recall it. So FWIW.

"Anello ...lifting Chloe up to give her a better view before he places her on a metal railing.... Three to four seconds later she vanishes through what is the only visibly open window in the entire bank of glass....
Chloe's older brother is the next member of the family to arrive, and looks stunned and confused as he realizes what is happening.
Kimberly follows close behind, fighting through the crowd to gaze down from the window before recoiling in shock and collapsing in grief.
Moments later her police officer husband arrives and covers his face with his hands as he struggles to cope with what he's seeing."
The video ends with Anello being led away by two members of staff, seemingly unable to stand or walk by himself."
Haunting final photo shows toddler before she fell from grandfather's arms to her death | Daily Mail Online
And thanks to @HRH Phoebe Cat for the link to MsMarple's post.

Of course we all know now that it was FAR more than "three to four seconds!"

I don't care for the comments on that newspaper's FB page, so slanted and scripted...

All of reports from their home state have been slanted towards the family.

 

[SoCalDavidS]

They feel safer trying to convince a Single Person, the Judge, rather than 12 Jurors. The judge will also stick to the letter of the law, rather than let emotions get involved.

 

[Stinalyn]

A complete stranger would probably have been a better choice.

Yes, because they likely wouldn't have benefitted in any way from her death...
Nothing to gain = No Motive ??
IMO MOO JMO etc

 

[Wehwalt]

To answer a question several pages ago, in Federal court, a civil jury verdict must be unanimous. Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 48.

I think his lawyers are going to try for a technicality acquittal, and don't want a jury thinking with their emotions rather than the law.

 

[SouthAussie]

At least their readers aren't stupid. Several have mentioned that he's only 51 (the same age as Jennifer Aniston) and a few have pointed out that he isn't even old enough for a seniors citizen's discount!

As well, many judges seem to be significantly older than 51/52 years old. It seems to me that presenting SA as 'elderly' in a court of law likely won't sit well with a judge (so the defense will probably not use that particular representation imo).

Maybe the media can stop buying into that illusion now .... now that a bench trial has been requested.

 

[Montrealaise]

There's another reason SA might have chosen a bench trial rather than a jury trial: jury trials take longer and therefore end up being more expensive for the defendant. SA doesn't seem to have much money and has even set up a crowdfunding site to raise money for his legal defense.

 

[katydid23]

Grandfather who dropped toddler to her death from Royal Caribbean ship window asks for bench trial | Daily Mail Online

EXCLUSIVE: Grandfather who dropped toddler to her death from Royal Caribbean cruise ship window asks for a trial by judge

• Salvatore Anello asked for a bench trial in front of a judge on Monday in the prosecution of the death of his granddaughter Chloe Wiegand
• The toddler died instantly when she fell from his arms out of a Royal Caribbean ship window and landed on a dock in San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 7
• The elderly IT worker has consistently protested his innocence over 18-month-old Chloe's fatal plunge
• Anello will stand trial in April and faces three years behind bars if he is found guilty of negligent homicide
• Royal Caribbean insists Anello would only have had to use his 'basic senses' to understand the danger this posed to Chloe
• Chloe's parents hit Royal Caribbean with a multi-million dollar negligence suit that blames it for failing to install safety devices or warning signs on a waist-height glass window that Anello says he didn't realize was slid wide open

By BEN ASHFORD IN SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 09:33 EST, 24 February 2020 | UPDATED: 17:49 EST, 24 February 2020
The grandfather accused of dropping Indiana toddler Chloe Wiegand to her death from a cruise ship window will stand trial in April.

Salvatore 'Sam' Anello faces a charge of negligent homicide over the little girl's fatal plunge from the 11th deck of the Freedom of the Seas as it docked in Puerto Rico last July.

Anello was in court on Monday in San Juan to say he wants a bench trial in front of a judge rather than a jury.

Wearing a black suit, white shirt and patterned blue tie, Anello listened carefully to the Spanish-language proceedings via an interpreter before his lawyer José Guillermo Perez Ortiz relayed his request.


'Yes, yes, I understand,' Anello repeated in English, when judge Gisela Alfonso Fernandez asked him to confirm he did not want a jury.

The judge gave Perez Ortiz more time to prepare a defense for the elderly IT worker, but said the trial will proceed on April 2 and run for four days.

+7
Salvatore Anello asked for a bench trial on Monday in the prosecution of the death of his granddaughter Chloe Wiegand. The trial will start April 2 and run for four days

+7

The elderly IT worker has consistently protested his innocence over 18-month-old Chloe's fatal plunge from the 11th deck of the Freedom of the Seas as it docked there last July. He is pictured at court on Monday

Salvatore Anello arrives in court to ask for a trial by judge

Negligent homicide is a misdemeanor but can be punished with a three-year prison sentence under the Puerto Rican criminal code.

But if Anello is found guilty, prosecutors will likely recommend a period of probation that can be completed in his native Indiana, DailyMail.com has learned.

Chloe's parents Alan and Kimberly Wiegand have pleaded with Puerto Rican authorities to halt the prosecution, instead blaming cruise operator Royal Caribbean for their 18-month-old daughter's death.

The grieving couple from South Bend, Indiana are suing the company in a separate civil lawsuit, arguing there were no signs or notices to warn Anello that the 'wall of glass' he held Chloe against contained windows that could be slid open.

When the silver-haired grandpa lifted the little girl up to let her bang on the glass as she loved to do at her brother's ice hockey games, Chloe tumbled overboard and died instantly as she landed 150ft below on the Pan American Pier 2.

Despite the windows having handles and a blue-green tint, the suit says it was harder for Anello to distinguish between a glass pane and thin air because he is color blind.

Salvatore Anello asks for a bench trial

 

[Chewy]

If they win the civil case against RCCL, I hope the jury gives them what they want: fix the windows and no money. Maybe make the windows open out, pivoting on the bottom, with the top being open. .

Snipped and BBM. I agree. I thought a very interesting compromise would be millions of dollars granted to RCCL as a forced payment to make the windows safe guarded with a minimal payout to the family. If they really are about "protecting future children" they should have no problem in the world. And perhaps a Chloe's Rule inforcement on all cruise ships, no alcohol served to people who are with children.

 

[MsMarple]

Grandfather who dropped toddler to her death from Royal Caribbean ship window asks for bench trial | Daily Mail Online

EXCLUSIVE: Grandfather who dropped toddler to her death from Royal Caribbean cruise ship window asks for a trial by judge

• Salvatore Anello asked for a bench trial in front of a judge on Monday in the prosecution of the death of his granddaughter Chloe Wiegand
• The toddler died instantly when she fell from his arms out of a Royal Caribbean ship window and landed on a dock in San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 7
• The elderly IT worker has consistently protested his innocence over 18-month-old Chloe's fatal plunge
• Anello will stand trial in April and faces three years behind bars if he is found guilty of negligent homicide
• Royal Caribbean insists Anello would only have had to use his 'basic senses' to understand the danger this posed to Chloe
• Chloe's parents hit Royal Caribbean with a multi-million dollar negligence suit that blames it for failing to install safety devices or warning signs on a waist-height glass window that Anello says he didn't realize was slid wide open

By BEN ASHFORD IN SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 09:33 EST, 24 February 2020 | UPDATED: 17:49 EST, 24 February 2020
The grandfather accused of dropping Indiana toddler Chloe Wiegand to her death from a cruise ship window will stand trial in April.

Salvatore 'Sam' Anello faces a charge of negligent homicide over the little girl's fatal plunge from the 11th deck of the Freedom of the Seas as it docked in Puerto Rico last July.

Anello was in court on Monday in San Juan to say he wants a bench trial in front of a judge rather than a jury.

Wearing a black suit, white shirt and patterned blue tie, Anello listened carefully to the Spanish-language proceedings via an interpreter before his lawyer José Guillermo Perez Ortiz relayed his request.


'Yes, yes, I understand,' Anello repeated in English, when judge Gisela Alfonso Fernandez asked him to confirm he did not want a jury.

The judge gave Perez Ortiz more time to prepare a defense for the elderly IT worker, but said the trial will proceed on April 2 and run for four days.

+7
Salvatore Anello asked for a bench trial on Monday in the prosecution of the death of his granddaughter Chloe Wiegand. The trial will start April 2 and run for four days

+7

The elderly IT worker has consistently protested his innocence over 18-month-old Chloe's fatal plunge from the 11th deck of the Freedom of the Seas as it docked there last July. He is pictured at court on Monday

Salvatore Anello arrives in court to ask for a trial by judge

Negligent homicide is a misdemeanor but can be punished with a three-year prison sentence under the Puerto Rican criminal code.

But if Anello is found guilty, prosecutors will likely recommend a period of probation that can be completed in his native Indiana, DailyMail.com has learned.

Chloe's parents Alan and Kimberly Wiegand have pleaded with Puerto Rican authorities to halt the prosecution, instead blaming cruise operator Royal Caribbean for their 18-month-old daughter's death.

The grieving couple from South Bend, Indiana are suing the company in a separate civil lawsuit, arguing there were no signs or notices to warn Anello that the 'wall of glass' he held Chloe against contained windows that could be slid open.

When the silver-haired grandpa lifted the little girl up to let her bang on the glass as she loved to do at her brother's ice hockey games, Chloe tumbled overboard and died instantly as she landed 150ft below on the Pan American Pier 2.

Despite the windows having handles and a blue-green tint, the suit says it was harder for Anello to distinguish between a glass pane and thin air because he is color blind.

Salvatore Anello asks for a bench trial

So... SA is still silver-haired and "elderly" and if he's found guilty will likely be sentenced to probation served in Indiana. Sigh.

Why bother to prosecute the case then if that's the likely outcome?

 

[SaguaroSpirit]

So... SA is still silver-haired and "elderly" and if he's found guilty will likely be sentenced to probation served in Indiana. Sigh.

Why bother to prosecute the case then if that's the likely outcome?

The fat lady hasn't sung yet.

 

[Chewy]

So... SA is still silver-haired and "elderly" and if he's found guilty will likely be sentenced to probation served in Indiana. Sigh.

Why bother to prosecute the case then if that's the likely outcome?

This is why I said if they hadn't sued the RCCL they probably wouldn't have prosecuted SA. RCCL has a lot of investments and brings a lot of money to PR. It's in their interest to have him found guilty to reduce the culpability of the company. I think the mother just snapped into professional mode and had friends pouring out support as well as ambulance chaser MW and they just were sort of tunneled into this lawsuit. You can see that the mother is almost robotic in how she's going through the emotions.

A lot of people judge her for this and I think this is why some people act like this was a big conspiracy. I honestly think she was just in shock and defensive mode. (Red flag that maybe they were not the most mindful parents is that her son actually on his own showed up next to his sisters body before the mother did. How is this even possible when they were 11 floors up?) I think the guilt and the grief and the shock were just too much, compounded with the fact that it was the grandfather. I honestly feel she just went into "work mode" because it was the only thing she "knew how to do."

 

[katydid23]

If they win the civil case against RCCL, I hope the jury gives them what they want: fix the windows and no money. Maybe make the windows open out, pivoting on the bottom, with the top being open. But then some fool would put their baby’s fingers in the way and cut them or get hurt somehow. Or go up and down from the top down to the middle not sideways. New design to keep morons in check. Wiegand’s get their only true wish: fix the windows!!!!
But what about balconies? I guess Wiegand’s will cruise again, on the lookout for more dangerous situations.
Too bad he wants a bench trial. Guess he’s scared of the truth: he killed her.
Not just out. Up and OVER. That’s what I see. He didn’t lean into her and accidentally push her out with his body. She was outside of the ship’s skin. The outside part of the ship. Whatever material it is made out of. Into the void, as it’s stated. To all the Michael Jackson’s and Salvatore Aiello’s of the world. Congratulations. You have brought a new world record to Guinness. They’ll have to publish a new version for how long you can hold a baby outside a barrier before you drop them. Grand Canyon tourists: take note. Going over the guard rails to take selfies could win you top prize in the same category. Not how low you can go but how dumb you can get.

I am not sure if windows opening outward, would be stable in the high winds at sea. I think they open now the way they do for safety's sake.

What if an open window, hanging outward by a hinge, fell off in heavy winds. Someone down below could easily die. JMO

 

[JulieBEMT]

Was just looking through the different media posts about today's hearing. It makes me sick that the media is still referring to this as a "children's play area." It's been well established that she was no longer in the play area, but was right next to a bar, and in an eating/lounge area. The way some of these stories are slanted to garner sympathy or paint the picture the family wants painted makes me wonder.

 

[al66pine]

Probation in Indiana?

So... SA is still silver-haired and "elderly" and if he's found guilty will likely be sentenced to probation served in Indiana. Sigh. Why bother to prosecute the case then if that's the likely outcome?

@MsMarple, Indiana probation may be the ultimate outcome. But I'm reading the exact phrasing at link a bit differently.
"But if Anello is found guilty, prosecutors will likely recommend a period of probation that can be completed in his native Indiana, the Daily Mail has learned."
--- "prosecutors will likely to recommend." bbm Nothing about the judge's likely sentencing.
--- "the Daily Mail has learned" No source is given. Who said --- LE, prosecutor, peanut gallery?
Jmo re this article. Not reflecting my thoughts about the case, as I hope SA spends time behind bars.

Grandfather who dropped toddler to her death from Royal Caribbean ship window asks for bench trial | Daily Mail Online Feb 24