A northern Indiana grandfather has insisted that he had no idea a cruise ship window was open when his granddaughter, 18 month old Chloe Wiegand, fell to her death on a cruise ship.

“I didn’t realise there wasn’t any glass until the absolutely that it was too late,” Salvatore Anello told “CBS This Morning” in a story that aired Tuesday.

“When she first fell, I thought she fell in front of me. I thought she fell in front of me.”

Chloe was in a play area on a cruise ship as it was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico when she fell 35 metres to the ground.

“All I know is I was trying to reach the glass and I know that we leaned over to try to have her reach the glass, at that point she slipped,” Anello said.  

“She slipped. She slipped.”

Police initially said that Salvatore Anello told officers he lost his grip while holding the girl.

Prosecutors have since charged Anello last month with negligent homicide in the death of his 18-month-old granddaughter.

If convicted, the charge carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

When asked about the case, Anello said he’s devastated.

“Chloe being gone is the worst thing ever so I’m like, whatever, you know,” Anello said. “There’s nothing worse that they could do to me than what’s already happened.”

“Whether, you know, they find me guilty of whatever or not. It’s inconsequential because of what has already happened is so horrible,” Anello said.

The grandfather also said that his colour blindness might have impacted whether or not he was able to see the glass.

“Some of the people who’ve been on the boat have written to me and said, ‘David, the windows are tinted, and so it is pretty easy to recognize that it’s open,'” CBS  News correspondent David  Begnaud said.

“I’m colourblind, David,” Anello said. “I don’t know. I just never saw it. … I’ve been told that that’s a reason that it might have happened.”

Anello is scheduled to appear in court in Puerto Rico on December, 17th .