The parents of an eight-year-old French girl have been charged with her murder after allegedly beating her to death and concealing her body in a trunk filled with cement. Eric Sabatier, 37, and Virginie Darras, 30, initially claimed their daughter Marina had been abducted from the family car while Sabatier bought burgers at McDonald's in Le Mans, north-west France.
The fake kidnapping made headlines across France until Friday, when Sabatier claimed they had found Marina dead six weeks earlier and hidden her body in panic. However, on Saturday both confessed to beating her to death. State prosecutor Chantal Moulin-Bernard said the couple had four other children from previous relationships, and Marina, who had mild Down's syndrome, was subjected to cruel treatment because she was 'greedy' and often asked for food.
Prosecutors revealed that Marina was locked in a cellar one night and found inanimate the next morning. Her body was initially hidden in a deep freeze before being placed in a trunk filled with cement and stored at Sabatier's workplace. The couple told Marina's half-siblings she was 'on holiday at the seaside'.
Teachers at two primary schools had alerted social services to bruises on Marina's body, but investigations were dropped. Jean-Luc Dubois, headmaster of Coulans-sur-Gee primary school, expressed concerns in April, noting Marina was notoriously thin and would try to steal food from other children's plates. The Prefect of the Sarthe department has ordered an investigation, with social workers attributing the tragedy to the family frequently changing address—five times in five years.
Both Sabatier and Darras face life imprisonment on charges including murder, abduction, and violence against a minor. The case has shocked France and marks the second time this year that French social services have missed a serious child abuse case.
