The grandfather of the 18-month-old girl who died after falling from an open window on the 11th floor of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that will allow him to avoid jail time. Salvatore Anello agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of negligent homicide. He will only receive probation, which he will be allowed to serve in his hometown of South Bend, Indiana.
"I took a plea deal today to try to help end part of this nightmare for my family, if possible," Anello said in a statement.
The family is still suing Royal Caribbean for negligence for having the windows open in an area of the ship meant for young children.
"We obviously blame them for not having a safer situation on the 11th floor of that cruise ship," the toddler's mother, Kim Wiegand, said. "There are a million things that could've been done to make that safer."
If convicted, Anello was facing up the three years in prison in Puerto Rico.