Police Say Four Children Were Left Alone While Their Mother Cruised
Police in North Miami Beach say 29-year-old Nathalie Belizaire left her four young children alone in an apartment while she boarded the Carnival Conquest for a three-night cruise to the Bahamas. The children included a two-month-old infant, a two-year-old toddler, and children ages 7 and 9. Belizaire boarded the ship at PortMiami on September 25. While she was at sea, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and North Miami Beach police forced their way into the residence and found all four children without adult supervision, huddled together in a bathroom. The infant was born in July. She faces four felony counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.
A WhatsApp Post Raised the Alarm
The case came to light after Lether Bazile, the infant’s father, saw a WhatsApp story posted by Belizaire that appeared to show a cruise ticket purchase. She reportedly told him the children would be staying with their great-grandmother. When Bazile went to the apartment on Saturday, he heard children inside and saw a television on through the blinds, so he called 911. Great-grandmother Denise Wilkes told investigators that Belizaire had said she would drop off the children because she was going out of town, but never arrived. Belizaire’s brother, Steven Borgella, told police she texted him Saturday evening and instructed him to check on the children. Police said repeated attempts to reach Belizaire failed because she was on the cruise.
Authorities Took Her Into Custody at the Port
When the Carnival Conquest returned to PortMiami on September 28, U.S. Customs and Border Protection took Belizaire into custody as she stepped off the ship and turned her over to North Miami Beach police. She declined to give a statement and invoked her right to remain silent. Each child-neglect charge is a third-degree felony in Florida carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine per count. During bond court, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer read the allegations and said, “You cannot make this up.” She also asked, “Who leaves four little kids alone to go on a cruise?” When Belizaire’s attorney said the case was only an allegation, the judge responded that officers had arrested her as she disembarked from the cruise ship. She added, “We are just grateful nothing worse happened to those kids,” and said, “The baby was born in July of this year. Who leaves a baby alone like that?”
Bond Was Set at $10,000
Bond was set at $10,000, and Belizaire was ordered to stay away from the children. She walked out of Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center Tuesday night covering her face and refusing questions. The four children were placed with the Florida Department of Children and Families.
ALERT: Judge utterly shocked to find out a mother allegedly left her 4 kids at home alone, including a 2-month-old baby, to go on a 3-night Carnival cruise in the Bahamas.
29-year-old Nathalie Belizaire told her children's father, Lether Bazile, that she would drop the kids off… pic.twitter.com/FeTgCpuG9Y
— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) September 29, 2026
