A Florida mother has been accused of leaving her four young children home alone while she travelled on a three-day cruise to the Bahamas. Police said the children included a two-month-old baby, a two-year-old, a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old.
Nathalie Belizaire, 29, of North Miami Beach, is facing four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm following her arrest after the Carnival Conquest returned to PortMiami on Monday. The children were found inside their home without adult supervision by the two-month-old's father, Lether Bazile, who called 911 and had them rescued before being placed in foster care.
The allegations drew a pointed response from Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer during Belizaire's bond hearing on Tuesday. 'You cannot make this up,' Glazer said, according to NBC Miami. 'It says she went on a cruise and left her children home alone.'
Children Found Alone Inside Apartment
The case came to light after the father of Belizaire's two-month-old child reportedly saw a post on her WhatsApp story on 24 September that appeared to show a cruise ticket, which was set to depart the next day, 25 September.
According to the arrest report, Belizaire told him she would leave the children with their great-grandmother, Denise Wilkes, before travelling.
However, when Bazile went to Belizaire's apartment on the night of 26 September, he reportedly saw a television on through the blinds and heard children inside. After receiving no response from an adult, he called 911.
North Miami Beach police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue subsequently entered the residence. Officers found all four children inside without adult supervision, with the siblings reportedly hiding together in a bathroom.
Belizaire was arrested on 28 September after disembarking from the Carnival Conquest at PortMiami.
Mother Allegedly Went on Three-Day Cruise
Wilkes confirmed to police that Belizaire had said she would bring the children to her because she was going out of town. However, investigators said the children were never brought to her home.
Police also said Belizaire's brother, whose identity wasn't publicised, received a message from Belizaire on Saturday evening instructing him to check on the children. Attempts by authorities to contact Belizaire while she was away were unsuccessful, according to the arrest report.
When the Carnival Conquest returned to PortMiami, Belizaire was taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection before being transferred to North Miami Beach police. She declined to provide a statement and invoked her right to remain silent, authorities said.
Judge Sets $10,000 Bond
During Tuesday's hearing, Glazer questioned how the children could have been left without supervision for several days.
'These poor kids were home alone for three days,' the judge said, adding that she was grateful nothing worse had happened to them. She also highlighted the age of the youngest child, saying the baby was born in July.
Glazer set Belizaire's bond at $2,500 on each of the four counts, totalling $10,000, and ordered her to stay away from the children. Belizaire's attorney told the court that she denied the allegations, and she was released from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Centre on Tuesday evening after posting bond.
