Florida mom arrested for leaving four children, including infant, alone on Bahamas cruise
A North Miami Beach mother faces child neglect charges after abandoning her four children, including a 2-month-old, while boarding a 3-day Carnival cruise to the Bahamas.
North Miami Beach mother jailed after infant and three children found alone while she cruised to Bahamas
A 29-year-old North Miami Beach woman was arrested Monday after police discovered she had left her four minor children — including a two-month-old infant — unsupervised in her apartment while she boarded a three-day Carnival cruise to the Bahamas, nbcmiami.com reports.
Nathalie Belizaire now faces four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.
The case came to light when the father of Belizaire's youngest child — born in July — noticed a WhatsApp story she posted on Thursday appearing to show a cruise ticket purchase. He spoke to her the same day, and Belizaire told him she planned to drop the children off with their great-grandmother before leaving town.
When the father visited her apartment on Saturday night, however, he saw the television on through the blinds and could hear the children talking inside. He called 911.
Officers from North Miami Beach police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue forced entry into the residence. All four children were found hiding together in the bathroom, with no adult present. Body camera footage showed officers gathering the children and escorting them outside.
The great-grandmother told investigators that Belizaire had said she would bring the children over before departing — but never did. Belizaire's brother also told police that around 8 p.m. Saturday, his sister sent him a text instructing him to check on her children. Multiple attempts by police to reach Belizaire directly were unsuccessful.
An investigation confirmed that Belizaire had purchased a ticket for the Carnival Conquest, departing September 25 on a three-day voyage to the Bahamas. The arrest report states she "left all four minor children, including a two-month-old infant and a two-year-old child, inside the residence without adult supervision while the defendant traveled out of town."
On Monday, authorities met Belizaire as she disembarked at PortMiami. U.S. Customs and Border Protection took her into custody and transferred her to North Miami Beach police. She declined to make a statement and invoked her right to remain silent.
At a bond court hearing on Tuesday, Judge Mindy Glazer set bail at $10,000 and ordered Belizaire to stay away from the children. She was released from jail Tuesday night.
"You cannot make this up," Judge Glazer said during the hearing. "It says she went on a cruise and left her children home alone. These poor kids, four of them, were home alone for three days… I'm just grateful nothing worse happened to these kids."
When informed that Belizaire's attorney said she denies the allegations, Glazer replied: "Of course she does. One baby, the baby was born in July of this year. Who leaves a baby alone like that?"
The arrest report concluded that "sufficient probable cause existed to establish that the defendant failed to provide the necessary care and supervision for the four minor children, thereby exposing them to a substantial risk of harm."
Authorities said all four children are safe and currently in foster care.
Source: Google News BS — Crime