• Salvatore Anello was arrested and charged with negligent manslaughter by Puerto Rican authorities on Monday.
  • The grandfather is being charged in connection to the July 7 death of his 18-month-old granddaughter Chloe Wiegand.
  • The toddler fell to her death from the 11th floor of a cruise ship, after her grandfather held her up to an open window.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

In July, three generations were vacationing on a Royal Caribbean cruise. The ship docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and a grandfather lifted his 18-month-old granddaughter up to a window on the 11th floor so she could bang on the glass.

But the window was open, and Chloe Wiegand plunged to her death.

The toddler’s mother, Kimberly Wiegand, told the “Today” show at the time that grandfather Salvatore Anello was “extremely hysterical” after the incident.

“You can barely look at him without him crying. She was his best friend,” she told “Today.”

Now, more than four months larter, Anello has been arrested in connection to Chloe's death.

On Monday, Puerto Rican officials charged the grandfather with negligent manslaughter. He is currently being held on $80,000 bond and his next court date is November 20, the Associated Press reported.

Kimberly told the "Today" show in July that Anello would often lift his granddaughter up to bang on the glass at her older brother's hockey games, and that he never would knowingly put her kids in danger.

"The thing that he has repeatedly told us is, 'I believed that there was glass.' He will cry over and over and over," Kimberly recalled.

The family is suing Royal Caribbean

Wiegand blamed the cruise line, Royal Caribbean, for having an open window so high up, and in the children's playroom.

"We obviously blame them for not having a safer situation on the 11th floor of that cruise ship. There are a million things that could've been done to make that safer. I know my mom was asking people, 'Why on earth is there a window open on the 11th floor without a screen or anything?'" Wiegand told the "Today" show in July.

kimberly wiegand

Foto: Kimberly Wiegand defended Anello on the "Today" show in July.sourceNBC News

At the time of Chloe's death, Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying they were working with authorities in San Juan.

"We are deeply saddened by yesterday's tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family," a representative told Business Insider's Graham Rapier. "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."

The company told NBC News it wouldn't comment on Anello's arrest.

The Indiana-based family is also in the middle of a civil lawsuit against Royal Caribbean.

"These criminal charges are pouring salt on the open wounds of this grieving family," the family's attorney, Michael Winkleman, told NBC News. "Clearly, this was a tragic accident, and the family's singular goal remains for something like this to never happen again. Had the cruise lines simply followed proper safety guidelines for windows, this accident likely would never have happened."