Florida judge rips into mom accused of leaving 4 children at home to go on 3-day cruise
A Florida mother is facing four felony charges after allegedly abandoning her four young children — including a 2-month-old infant — to take a three-day vacation on a cruise ship to the Bahamas.
Nathalie Belizaire, 29, was charged with four counts of child neglect after she boarded Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Conquest, leaving her children unattended in her North Miami Beach residence. Police said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took her into custody Monday as she disembarked.
"You cannot make this up," Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer said in Tuesday court footage. "We are just grateful nothing worse happened to those kids.
"Who leaves four little kids alone to go on a cruise?
"The poor kids were home alone."
The children were discovered by police Saturday, the day after the ship set sail. Bodycam footage showed four kids coming out of hiding in a bathroom – a 2-year-old toddler, a pre-teen and what appeared to be a teenage girl holding a newborn baby.
Lether Bazile, the father of the 2-month-old, told police that Belizaire claimed she was leaving the children with their great-grandmother, the New York Post reported.
BABYSITTER ACCUSED OF KIDNAPPING TWO YOUNG SISTERS WAS PREVIOUSLY CHARGED WITH ABDUCTING NEWBORN
The father was tipped off by the mother's absence by Belizaire’s WhatsApp story two days earlier that appeared to show a Carnival Cruise Line ticket, he told police.
When Bazile stopped by Belizaire's home, he saw the television glowing through the blinds and heard the children's voices inside.
He immediately called the police, who entered the home and found the four children hiding in a bathroom with no adult present.
According to authorities, the children's grandmother, Denise Wilkes, told officers that Belizaire had promised to drop the kids off but never showed up. Furthermore, Belizaire’s brother, Steven Borgella, informed police that his sister had texted him at 8 p.m. ET on the day the children were found, asking him to check in on them.
Belizaire was arrested Monday as she disembarked the vessel at the port in Miami. She declined to speak to officers.
During the Tuesday hearing, Belizaire’s defense attorney argued that her abandoning the children to go on vacation was "just an allegation at this time," noting that she denies the claims.
"At this time, it is only an allegation; she denies the allegation," the defense attorney said.
"Of course she does," Glazer said as the accused showed exasperation.
"They arrested her disembarking from the cruise ship!" the judge then shot back.
TWO MISSING CHILDREN RESCUED FROM TRAILER AS POLICE ARREST BABYSITTER ON KIDNAPPING CHARGES
"I understand that, judge, I understand that," the attorney replied. "The question is who was the one responsible for the children at the time?"
Glazer thought for a second, before saying, "usually it's the mother, the person that gave birth to them."
"There are also others responsible, it's not just mothers," the defense attorney replied. "It's not just mothers that are in charge of children, judge. It's also fathers and grandparents and other people."
"See, the mothers always know who their children are," Glazer said. "Fathers may not know, but it looks like different fathers here. One of the fathers grew concerned and called the police."
Belizaire was given a stay away order until the Department of Children and Families can investigate. She faces four felony counts of child neglect without great bodily harm. Bond was set at $10,000, $2,500 per child.
This recent arrest is not Belizaire's first run-in with the law. She previously faced aggravated battery charges in January 2025 after allegedly pepper-spraying a neighbor in the face during a dispute regarding her daughter, the Post reported.