Mother arrested for child neglect after leaving 4 toddlers alone on Bahamas cruise

North Miami Beach police found four children, aged two months to two years, alone in an apartment while their mother cruised the Bahamas. Nathalie Belizaire, 29, was arrested on four counts of child neglect.

Four children, ages two months to two years, found alone in North Miami Beach apartment

Body camera footage recorded officers entering an apartment in North Miami Beach and discovering four young children — ranging from two months to two years old — hiding in the bathroom, while their mother was aboard a three-day Carnival cruise to the Bahamas.

wsvn.com reports that North Miami Beach Police were alerted on Sept. 26 after the possible father of Belizaire's two-month-old daughter grew concerned. He told investigators he had seen what appeared to be a Carnival Cruise Line ticket on her WhatsApp story two days earlier. When he arrived at the apartment shortly after, he saw a television on through the blinds and heard the children talking inside.

Officers said they had to force their way into the residence. Once inside, they found the children safe and contacted their great-grandmother, who told investigators that Belizaire had promised to drop them off before leaving town — but never did. Belizaire's brother also told police he received a text message from her around 8 p.m. that night asking him to check on the children.

Repeated attempts by police to reach Belizaire during this period were unsuccessful.

Investigators determined she had purchased a three-day trip aboard the Carnival Conquest, which sailed on Sept. 25. Detectives traveled to PortMiami on Sept. 28, the scheduled return date. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers detained Belizaire as she disembarked and handed her over to North Miami Beach Police.

The alleged neglect landed Nathalie Belizaire, 29, behind bars. At Tuesday's bond court hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer addressed her directly: "You were arrested for four counts of child neglect."

Glazer expressed concern about the children's young ages. "We're just grateful nothing worse happened to these kids," she said. "One baby was born in July of this year. Who leaves a baby alone like that?"

Belizaire was ordered to have no contact with the children pending further proceedings in dependency court. The judge granted pretrial services with an alternate bond of $2,500 per count, for a total of $10,000.

Source: Google News BS — Crime