Judge rips into mom accused of leaving four kids home alone to go on a cruise
A Florida mom who allegedly abandoned her four children to go on a cruise has been laid into by a judge.
Nathalie Belizaire is accused of leaving four children, including a two-month-old and a two-year-old, to go on holiday to the Bahamas, court documents state.
The 29-year-old mother was charged with four counts of child neglect after she allegedly left the children unattended. She denies the allegations.
Investigators say she left for the Bahamas on Friday for the three-day cruise. She was arrested when she returned to Miami on Monday.
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As per NBC Miami, the arrest report read: "Based on the totality of the circumstances and evidence obtained during the investigation, sufficient probable cause existed to establish that the defendant failed to provide the necessary care and supervision for the four minor children, thereby exposing them to a substantial risk of harm."
She appeared in bond court on Tuesday, where Judge Mindy Glazer exclaimed: "You cannot make this up. Who leaves four little kids alone to go on a cruise?"
"We are just grateful nothing worse happened to those kids," she continued.
Nathalie's attorney said: "At this time, it's only an allegation."
The mom was asked by the judge if there was anything she wanted to say, although she remained silent.
The father of the two-month-old girl was the one who called the police and claimed to WPLG Local 10 that he 'never agreed to watch the children while their mom was cruising the Caribbean'.
However, she claims it was 'all a setup', and that she text him on Thursday asking to look after them. The father completely denies these allegations.
He claims he believed the grandmother was looking after the kids. It came after he allegedly saw a 'post on her WhatsApp story on Thursday "depicting what appeared to be a cruise ticket purchase"', as per NBC Miami.
The dad claims he spoke to Nathalie that day, which is when she allegedly told him she would be leaving the children with their great-grandmother.
The children's great-grandmother told authorities that Nathalie did say she was going to drop the children off for her to look after, but she never brought them to her house.
Nathalie's brother also claimed that she text him on Saturday, asking 'instructing him to check on her children,' police said. They also attempted to contact her a number of times, but all attempts were unsuccessful.
He then attended the residence, and although he didn't have a key, he said he could see the children inside.
In the video taken by him, the children can be seen watching the TV.
In bodycam footage, authorities can be seen approaching the children, before they were escorted out of the house. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue also helped to force entry into the house.
As per NBC Miami, police said 'all four minor children were discovered inside without adult supervision and were hiding together in the bathroom'.
A judge set Nathalie's bond at $10,000 and ordered her to stay away from the children until the Department of Children and Families can investigate.
Her arraignment hearing is reportedly set for November 24.
Topics: US News, Parenting, Cruise ship
Kiesha Dosanjh