Florida mom allegedly abandons 4 kids to go on cruise: Court documents
A North Miami Beach, Florida, mom is facing child neglect charges after allegedly abandoning her four children -- including a 2-month-old and a 2-year-old -- to go on a cruise to the Bahamas, according to court documents.
The four kids were discovered on Saturday when officers responded to 29-year-old Nathalie Belizaire's home, according to the arrest affidavit/complaint against her.
Lether Bazile had called 911 after he found his 2-month-old daughter, whom he shares with Belizaire, in Belizaire's home without supervision, along with three siblings, the document said.
Bazile told police that on Sept. 24 he saw a post from Belizaire on WhatsApp "depicting what appeared to be a cruise ticket purchase for Carnival," the document said. Authorities said they later determined Belizaire had a ticket for a three-day cruise to the Bahamas that left on Sept. 25, the document said.
Bazile said when he last spoke with Belizaire on Sept. 24, Belizaire told him she would be dropping the children off with their great-grandmother, according to the arrest affidavit/complaint. The great-grandmother told police that Belizaire said she was going to bring the kids over because she was going out of town, but she never dropped them off, the document said.
Bazile said he called 911 on Saturday after going to Belizaire's home and seeing the TV on through the blinds and hearing the children inside, according to the arrest affidavit/complaint.
Responding officers found the four kids hiding together in a bathroom, the document said.
On Monday, officers went to PortMiami and took Belizaire into custody as she returned from the cruise, the arrest affidavit/complaint said.
Belizaire, who was charged with four counts of child neglect, declined to speak with police, but Belizaire's brother told investigators that his sister texted him on Saturday telling him to check on her kids, the document said.
Belizaire made her first appearance in court Tuesday for a bond hearing. She has not entered a plea and her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
