The heart stopping moment a grandad accidentally dropped his 18-month-old granddaughter to her death through a 150ft-high ship window has been captured on video.

Surveillance footage has emerged showing Salvatore Anello picking up Chloe Wiegand while on board the docked Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas liner.

The man said he believed he was lifting Chloe so that she could bang on the glass, as she had previously done.

But the window wasn't shut and the baby plunged 150 feet from the open window on July 7.

The ship's video footage of the fateful moment has been publicised by La Comay Mega TV.

• 

  Grandad 'had to be sedated' after dropping toddler 150ft to her death on cruise ship

• 

  Grandad who dropped toddler 150ft from cruise ‘didn’t realise window was open’

In it, Chloe can be seen dashing away from her grandfather across the 11th floor towards a window, between tables and passengers.

Anello appears to look out of the window before picking his granddaughter up over his head.

He appears to lose his grip as she vanishes from view, as he looks out through the window after her.

On Tuesday the grandad was offered a plea deal, involving him admitting guilt by negligence.

Read More

Must-see videos

Anello has protested his innocence, saying he thought the glass pane was there.

The IT worker faces now three years' prison if he's found guilty at trial.

He appeared in a San Juan, Puerto Rico, court and prosecutor Ivete Niees said they formally approached Anello, but he did not say whether he would accept or reject the deal.

Anello's defence lawyer Jose Perez told ABC news: "The parties have talked about an agreement in general terms but nothing specific and nothing in paper.

"He is firm that he is innocent."

Should Salvatore accept the plea deal, he wouldn't be sent to jail, but would likely receive minimum probation, and minimum supervision, according to MailOnline.

Anello will next appear in court on January 27, 2020.

The baby's grieving family from South Bend, Indiana, have remained supportive of Anello and have blamed the girl's death on the cruise operator for leaving the window open.

• 

  Cruise ship child death lawyer: 'Baby was not dangled like Michael Jackson balcony case’

• 

  Baby girl who fell 150ft to death 'from grandad's arms' on cruise ship as mum screamed

They have filed a lawsuit against Royal Caribbean Cruises, accusing the company of negligence by allowing the window to be opened.

Chloe had been travelling with her parents Alan and Kimberly Schultz Weigand as well as her grandparents, including Anello.

A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean said: "We are deeply saddened by yesterday’s tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family.

"We’ve made our Care Team available to assist the family with any resources they need. Out of respect for their privacy, we do not plan to comment further on the incident."

Source: Read Full Article