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

[Seattle1]

I truly am having a hard time accepting that PR is letting him off so easy, after all the denial and the lies, and still blaming the ship. If this is justice I honestly don’t know what to think of our legal system anymore.

In our legal system, neither SA nor PR are parties to the wrongful death civil lawsuit which is between Wiegand's and RCCL only.

Again, the plea agreement negotiated between the SA's defense and PR prosecutor for the criminal matter has nothing to do with the civil matter. That's the law.

 

[Seattle1]

Indiana grandfather charged in cruise ship death of toddler in Puerto Rico changes plea to guilty

Feb 25, 2020

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- An Indiana man accused of dropping his granddaughter from an 11th floor window of a cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico last year has changed his plea to guilty the day after he declined his right to a jury trial.
[..]

His attorney filed the change of plea Tuesday, ABC News reports. A hearing date has not yet been set.
[..]

Anello's attorney released a statement, saying, "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."
[..]

The defendant filed a motion yesterday afternoon expressing his intent to plead guilty and asking for a hearing date where the Court may accept his change of plea. Anello's decision to so proceed is wholly within his discretion and will become binding only upon his appearing before the Court to voluntarily plead guilty."

Wiegand's family has sued the cruise ship company, accusing it of negligence by allowing the window in the ship's children's play area to be open.

 

[justice4allnow]

I want to start a letter-writing campaign to the appropriate office for the prosecutor or judge in Puerto Rico. I'm not sure to whom it should go, but I'm assuming someone here: Criminal Division
I'll look back in the old threads tomorrow to find the names. Do any of the attorneys here know to whom letters should be sent?
I know that in my county the DA does read letters and takes into account how the public feels when recommending sentencing. I really feel that justice is not served if he does not admit to the facts, apologize and d0 some sort of restitution. For something as simple as drunk-driving here it will cost the perp about 10k and they have to pick up trash on the roadside on weekends, for months. They have to volunteer with local nonprofits in some cases.

 

[Seattle1]

I went to bed early last night and am still catching up on this. The above is likely correct, though again, Puerto Rico is its own thing. The following assumes that Puerto Rican authorities have agreed to probation. I haven't seen that stated by them.

If it's anything like standard US practice, SA will have to plead in open court. The judge can, and most likely will in such a prominent case, question him, on the subjects of whether the plea is knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. It is really up to the judge how far to go on this. It can be very pro forma, in, out, rubber stamp plea deal. But this circumstance of pleading guilty while not admitting to the allegations, I'm hoping will cause the judge to ask a few more searching questions like "What did you do to cause you to plead guilty?" and so forth. Very much depends on the judge, at least in the US. Puerto Rico may have its own ways.

The reason why he's not admitting to the allegations is almost certainly civil liability. RCCI could sue him or else join him in the current lawsuit as a third-party defendant, liable for anything they are liable for. That does not mean that successful plaintiffs would be out of luck, it just means that RCCI could try to recover any payout from him. If he's admitted to the allegations, that would make a civil defense very difficult.

As to whether the judge can put him in jail anyway, the papers say this is a "plea deal". The judge can accept or reject it, but if rejected the case would continue, possibly before a different judge. A "plea with a recommendation" doesn't bind the judge in any way.

This plea agreement between SA's defense and the prosecutor will be binding upon SA appearing in court to change his earlier not guilty plea to guilty.

The misdemeanor plea deal is not subject to acceptance by the judge-- there's no jail time, probation, or penalty.

The prosecutor did not have to accept the plea deal or the terms of the deal but since they did, the judge acknowledges that this deal was negotiated in good faith by both parties and done so in the interest of the People.

RCCL would never sue SA and couldn't join him in the WDLS! That's not the way a wrongful death suit works. If ever a judgment and/or award be due the Wiegand's by RCCL, it would be paid by their insurance carrier.

MOO

 

[Seattle1]

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.

[..]

'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.

[..]

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.

On Monday, SA was in court to request a bench trial for his misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide at the trial that was scheduled to begin April 2.

When it was stated that if SA was found guilty, the PR prosecutor's office would likely recommend no jail time and probation that could be completed in Indiana, this was indeed the biggest clue (to me) that a plea deal was being negotiated by the parties.

And for the deal to be announced only a day later, I think it indicates that the prosecutor probably agreed to the final terms right before SA departed San Juan.

To be clear, the prosecutor did not have to accept the plea deal agreement or the terms to include no jail time and no admission of facts.

I think the prosecutor accepting the deal is consistent with their initial announcement of the negligent homicide charges against SA when they said they did not believe SA acted with malice but was negligent and being charged accordingly.

This plea agreement negotiated by the parties in good faith is certainly not the actions of an office that (secretly) believed SA acted intentionally to drop his granddaughter out of the window or one that actually wanted to charge him with murder. If there was any truth to that, clearly, no such deal would ever be in place.

Most important here is that SA will acknowledge before the court seeking justice for Chloe that he is guilty of negligent homicide for raising this innocent child off the ground and above the safety guard rail put in place by RCCL for the safety of all passengers including Chloe.

The guard rail served to keep SA safe from falling out the window and had he not lifted Chloe and breached the guard rail, she too would have been safe just as RCCL intended for all passengers onboard the cruise ship.

This has always been about justice for Chloe and SA's admission of his act was paramount.

I further expect the Judge in the civil suit will find the same and dismiss the cause of action by Wiegand's against RCCL.

MOO

 

[Seattle1]

It will come out in the civil case, won't it?

Civil is different than criminal IMO -they can file a motion to seal - they do not want that authentic video played on their proprietary software released as it will be unmistakable that he threw her off jMO

I think the chances of the civil action by Wiegand's against RCCL being dismissed by the court are better than not and therefore no video will ever be released. I think the Judge is expected to release his ruling soon. MOO

 

[1&2&3]

Could a Spanish speaking person translate the latest order given by the PR court please?


Court document changing his plea to guilty.

Attached Files:

• 
  a" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 10px 0px; overflow: hidden; zoom: 1; background-image: url("https://www.websleuths.com/forums/styles/default/xenforo/gradients/category-23px-light.png"); background-color: rgb(245, 209, 161); border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-position: center top; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat;">
• 
  F2B91DE0-3FCE-419C-AAA5-16E2341C48AF.jpeg
  File size:
  148.3 KB
  

  Court document changing his plea to guilty.

 

[oviedo]

CBS this morning covering the story coming up - they have been so biased in favor of the family and against RCL in the past - wonder if this will continue??

 

[1&2&3]

I am a bit confused. We keep reading that SA will change his plea in Court document, changing his plea to guilty.

However, then we read that he doesn’t have to admit guilt.

Which is it? In my judgement, his plea must admit he dropped his granddaughter. Years down the road, I want their to be absolute proof
in writing of what he did!

 

[1&2&3]

My opinion on KW and AW lawsuit is their biggest win will be when the judge dismiss the lawsuit after accepting SA’s guilty plea.

With SA pleading guilty, does that not absolve RCCL of all liability in connection to this case?

 

[oviedo]

Still saying the glass in his statement and they replayed a portion of that earlier interview - and they can focus on raising awareness for cruise ship safety - still Gayle is saying she can’t believe they charged him but nothing about him dangling her out the window in their comments with DB - ugh

 

[oviedo]

Man will plead guilty in granddaughter's cruise ship death to "end part of this nightmare"
FEBRUARY 26, 2020 / 7:42 AM / CBS NEWS
The Indiana man whose 18-month-old granddaughter Chloe Wiegand fell to her death from the window of a cruise ship in Puerto Rico last year will plead guilty to negligent homicide. Salvatore Anello initially pleaded not guilty, but he was offered a deal that spares him from going to jail and from having to admit to the facts of the case as alleged by prosecutors.
Snipped

 

[Laria Rivera]

Sentencing guidelines for being recklessly negligent to th point of killing an 18 month old baby should require prison time, IMO. So the probation seems quite lenient.

It does sound lenient but SA has no prior convictions and the sentence for Negligent Homicide is anything from probation to 3 years in prison. The judge doesn’t have to accept the plea deal and still can sentence SA to some time in prison but that is very rare. We’ll have to wait for the judges final decision.

 

[Jewels53]

Man will plead guilty in granddaughter's cruise ship death to "end part of this nightmare"
FEBRUARY 26, 2020 / 7:42 AM / CBS NEWS
The Indiana man whose 18-month-old granddaughter Chloe Wiegand fell to her death from the window of a cruise ship in Puerto Rico last year will plead guilty to negligent homicide. Salvatore Anello initially pleaded not guilty, but he was offered a deal that spares him from going to jail and from having to admit to the facts of the case as alleged by prosecutors.
Snipped

The whole "End this Part of the Nightmare" is a false narrative. It will not end the nightmare as long as they have the civil suit still happening.
BBM

moo

 

[mheido67]

A guilty plea is

Grandpa is getting a very sweet deal.
No jail time, NO ADMISSION OF GUILT, and he serves some kind of Nothing Burger Probation in Indiana.

The only good thing is they will be able to say he pled GUILTY when the Civil Case proceeds.

an admission of guilt. He would be saying he agrees with the charge. What he doesn't have to do, if the reporting is true, is give a statement where he explains what happened. No admission of facts. As others have pointed out it will be up to the judge as to whether she wants to allow this.

 

[GeorgiaRai]

I was feeling so much compassion for SA this morning. After seeing just the headline on Twitter, I assumed he acknowledged his part in this terrible tragedy as part of his plea. I see now this may not be (and is probably not) the case. Sad.

I feel like there's a lot of forgiveness & sympathy ready to be poured out to this family if only they'd stop using their baby's death to (1) get out of trouble, and (2) cash out.

 

[Kittybunny]

CBS this morning covering the story coming up - they have been so biased in favor of the family and against RCL in the past - wonder if this will continue??

Yes. The answer was yes. OMG I was so ANGRY watching the crockpot of crap and spin served up this morning. It was SO sympathetic towards the poor poor grandfather. And Gayle King saying he never should have been charged?!?!? Did she see that idiot stick his head out the window? Hold that baby out that window 11 floors up for 30 seconds, with ONE HAND?! GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

Yes, I'm fired up!

At this point, I hope the prosecutor rejects the plea or requires an admission of guilt, at the least; and that the judge dismisses the civil lawsuit. That would be the only way to shut the spin down.

 

[Safetybug]

If SA is required to actually explain himself before the judge then SA will simply stick to his newly contrived mantra that he parroted in his statement to CBS this morning. Which seems to be carefully orchestrated wordings of KW that he is merely memorizing. I believe that if his “in-laws” weren’t LE and an attorney - that he would be serving jail time already! JMO

 

[Kindred]

I was feeling so much compassion for SA this morning. After seeing just the headline on Twitter, I assumed he acknowledged his part in this terrible tragedy as part of his plea. I see now this may not be (and is probably not) the case. Sad.

I feel like there's a lot of forgiveness & sympathy ready to be poured out to this family if only they'd stop using their baby's death to (1) get out of trouble, and (2) cash out.

Yeah... no. It doesn't sound like he's fully accepted his part at all. It doesn't appear to be the full statement but here's what CBS shared:

"At the moment the accident happened, it was as if this wall of protective glass disappeared," Anello said in his statement. "I was in complete disbelief ... 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 placed in charge of keeping my beautiful granddaughter safe and I failed."

Man will plead guilty in granddaughter's cruise ship death to "end part of this nightmare"

Don't you just hate it when that "protective glass" just "disappears"?

I really hope this statement gets back to the judge and she demands him to give a full accounting of what happened before she accepts his plea because that's . Now he's back to "I saw glass but it vanished"?

**edit - CBS not NBC. My head still isn't totally clear yet lol

 

[In vino veritas]

Neesaki, I could feel semi-ok with probation only and no jail time, if he would admit to the facts of the case, apologize thoroughly both in court and through media outlets, and do some form of restorative justice or restitution. What the restorative justice would look like, I'm not sure; maybe he could give public talks about basic rules of safety around windows, including not breaching safety railings, situational awareness, etc. Maybe restitution could involve volunteering in children's wards at hospitals (under close supervision, of course!) In any case, I hope that the judge really puts some thought into this, so that his period of probation provides something meaningful to society. And of course I would like to see the family drop the lawsuit too.

I fully agree!!

AND... as this plea still needs to be heard before the judge, I do hope the judge is less lenient. Do hope he insists on admission of facts before plea is granted.
I would find it appalling if SA was allowed to plea guilty without admitting why he’s guilty, especially given all the outright lies/ misdirections that have circulated from him and the Wiegands since the incident occurred.