NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Body camera footage captured the moment officers found four young children home alone while their mother was on a three-day cruise in the Bahamas.
North Miami Beach Police officers said they had to force themselves into the apartment after the children’s possible father reported them by themselves at home.
Footage captured officers finding the children–who range from two months old to 2 years old– hiding in the bathroom.
“There you are!” said an officer.
The alleged neglect of the children has landed their mother, 29-year-old Nathalie Belizaire, behind bars. Officers found her disembarking from the cruise ship on Monday.
“You were arrested for four counts of child neglect,” said Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer.
According to the arrest report, officers responded to the residence on Sept. 26 after the possible father of Belizaire’s 2-month-old daughter became concerned about the children.
The father told investigators he had seen a post on Belizaire’s WhatsApp story two days earlier that appeared to show a Carnival Cruise Line ticket.
He said Belizaire told him she planned to leave the children with their great-grandmother while she was out of town.
But a few days later, when he showed up at Belizaire’s apartment, he told police he saw a television on through the blinds and heard the children talking inside.
Once inside the home and with the children safe, investigators contacted the children’s great-grandmother, who told them Belizaire had said she would drop off the children before going out of town but never brought them to her home.
Belizaire’s brother also told investigators he received a text message from her at about 8 p.m. that night asking him to check on the children, according to the report.
Police said repeated attempts to contact Belizaire were unsuccessful.
Investigators later determined Belizaire had purchased a three-day trip to the Bahamas aboard the Carnival Conquest, with a Sept. 25 sail date.
Detectives went to PortMiami on Sept. 28, when Belizaire was scheduled to return from the cruise.
Police said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took her into custody as she disembarked and turned her over to North Miami Beach Police.
During Tuesday’s bond court hearing, the judge expressed concern about the children’s ages and the allegations.
“We’re just grateful nothing worse happened to these kids,” Glazer said. “One baby was born in July of this year. Who leaves a baby alone like that?”
Belizaire was ordered to have no contact with the children pending further action in dependency court. The judge granted pretrial services with an alternate bond of $2,500 per count, totaling $10,000.
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