Video Showing Final Moments Before Baby Falls Off Cruise Ship Leaked

The video involving the final moments of one-year-old kid Chloe Wiegand, who fell from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in San Juan, Puerto Rico has been leaked and was telecast on Tuesday in a private channel.

The video was broadcast on the Puerto Rican station Mega TV. The family is upset by the public display of the video.

According to the USA Today report, the silent footage of the July 7 incident forms a crucial part of two cases related to Chloe's death.

There is a criminal case against Anello, the child’s grandfather charging negligent homicide. If convicted, he will face three years in prison.

The media report said its internal team reviewed the Royal Caribbean surveillance footage that showed Chloe Wiegand's fall.

The report adds that the video showed Chloe Wiegand moving toward the big windows of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. The grandfather, 51-year-old Salvatore Sam Anello was seen following her as she approaches the ship’s window. The ship was stationed at that time in Puerto Rico.

Anello leaning over an interior railing close to the windows and seen lifting Chloe onto the railing, part of the footage showed.

In a split second, the kid goes down and panicked passengers are seen rushing to the windows as the 18-month old falls from the 11th deck.

Who leaked it?

There is no clue on who had leaked the footage, and how it will impact the pending litigation.

Michael Winkleman, the attorney representing the Wiegand family allowed the media team to view the video to know what is inside it.

“The family publicly asks the Puerto Rican authorities, why was this footage released?” the Wiegand family said in a statement released through Winkleman.

Probe sought

It asked why they are inflicting such emotional distress on the family and called for an independent investigation into the leak.

The USA Today report said the footage showed Anello lifting Chloe and prodding her to bang on the window. The office of Puerto Rico Attorney General Dennise N. Longo Quiñones said her office has no idea how the media outlet got the video.

But the statement of AG added: “A careful review of video confirms Salvatore Anello is guilty of negligent homicide as charged.”

This, however, contradicts the scenario mentioned in the lawsuit filed by the family against the cruise line.

It said Anello lifted Chloe to the railing and held her and she leaned to bang on the glass. There was no glass pane and she slipped from Anello's arms, falling 150 feet below causing her death, reported CNN.

It said Anello was unaware that some of the glass panes could be opened and there was no hint that the wall of glass panes was not fixed and the wooden rail was barely 18 inches away from the glass pane.

Puerto Rico Police claimed Anello told them he lost grip while holding the kid outside the window. Chloe's mother has said the family is against pursuing criminal charges against Anello.

Royal Caribbean declined to comment on the leak and court cases.