Judge Scolds Florida Mom for Allegedly Leaving Children Home Alone for Bahamas Cruise

A Florida mother, Nathalie Belizaire, 29, has been arrested and charged with four counts of child neglect after allegedly leaving her four children, including a two-month-old infant and a two-year-old, home alone to take a three-night cruise to the Bahamas. The incident has drawn sharp criticism from Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer.

"Who leaves four little kids alone to go on a cruise?" Judge Glazer questioned Belizaire during a court appearance. "The poor kids were home alone!"

According to an arrest affidavit, Belizaire embarked on the Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Conquest, leaving the children unattended at her North Miami Beach residence. The children were discovered by Lether Bazile, the father of the infant, who went to check on them. Bazile reported hearing children's voices and seeing the TV on through the blinds. He subsequently called the police.

When authorities arrived, they found the children hiding in the bathroom without an adult present. The children's grandmother, Denise Wilkes, told officers that Belizaire had stated she would drop the children off with their great-grandmother but never did.

Belizaire's brother, Steven Borgella, also informed police that his sister had texted him on the day the cruise began, asking him to check on the children.

Belizaire was arrested on September 28 as she disembarked the cruise ship in Miami. When her lawyer suggested the allegations were unproven, Judge Glazer responded, "They arrested her disembarking from the cruise ship! You cannot make this up! We are just grateful nothing worse happened to those kids."

Belizaire was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on felony counts of child neglect without great bodily harm. Her bond was set at $10,000, and she has been ordered to stay away from the children.

Court records indicate this is not Belizaire's first encounter with law enforcement. In January 2025, she was arrested and charged with aggravated battery for allegedly pepper-spraying a neighbor, whom she believed was harassing her daughter.