Inset: Nathalie Belizaire (Miami-Dade Corrections via WPLG). Background: The cruise ship Carnival Horizon leaves Miami as seen from Miami Beach, Saturday, May 25, 2024. Carnival Horizon is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. (AP/NewsBase)
A Florida woman allegedly ditched her four kids including an infant and toddler at home for the weekend so she could go party on a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas.
Now Nathalie Belizaire, 29, is charged with four counts of child neglect.
North Miami Beach police responded around 8 p.m. Saturday to an apartment in the 1400 block of N.E. 170th Street for a welfare check. The father of Belizaire's 2-month-old went to the apartment and found the child and siblings home alone, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
The father said he grew suspicious after seeing a WhatsApp message from Belizaire that appeared to show a Carnival cruise ticket. He said Belizaire told him that she would be dropping off the kids with a relative, but that relative said she never did.
The father said that after he showed up at the apartment, he saw the TV glowing through the blinds and heard the kids talking. That's when he called police.
Officers entered the apartment and found the four kids hiding in the bathroom, the affidavit stated. They were unharmed.
Belizaire's brother said she texted him and asked him to check on the kids, but he had not arrived when officers got there.
Police tried calling Belizaire several times but she never answered, according to the affidavit.
Investigators determined that Belizaire left Friday for the three-day cruise. When Belizaire returned to port on Sunday, police were waiting for her.
She was arrested and declined to speak with investigators, according to the affidavit. Belizaire remains in the Miami-Dade County Jail. A bond has not been set, and her next court date was not listed.
Florida's Department of Children and Families is also investigating.
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