Nathalie Belizaire, 29, returned to Miami on Monday after a three-night cruise and found police waiting for her at PortMiami. Police say the North Miami Beach mother left four children alone in her apartment while she sailed aboard Carnival Conquest, and she now faces four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.
PortMiami on Sept. 28
The children included a 2-month-old infant and a 2-year-old. Police say first responders forced their way into the apartment and found all four children together, hiding in a bathroom, without an adult present.
Lether Bazile, the infant's father, went to the apartment on Saturday after becoming concerned about where the children were. He told police Belizaire had said she planned to leave the children with their great-grandmother, but when Bazile arrived on Sept. 26 he heard the children talking and saw a television on inside.
Denise Wilkes and Steven Borgella
Belizaire texted Steven Borgella on Sept. 26 and asked him to check on the children. Denise Wilkes told police Belizaire had said she would drop the children off with her, but never arrived with them. The Florida Department of Children and Families became involved after the children were discovered.
Carnival Conquest departed PortMiami on Sept. 25 for a three-night Bahamas sailing and returned to Miami on Sept. 28. Carnival Cruise Line said, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection escorted a passenger off Carnival Conquest when the ship arrived in Miami, describing the situation as a law-enforcement matter unrelated to operation of the vessel.” Belizaire declined to give police a statement after her arrest.
The sequence leaves one practical question at the center of the case: what happened to the childcare plan before she boarded the ship, and why did it never put an adult in the apartment with the children?
