A sexologist mother and her partner accused of abandoning her two young sons in a Portuguese forest burst into song and declarations of love during a bizarre court hearing. Marine Rousseau, 41, and former police officer Marc Ballabriga, 55, are accused of leaving Barthelemy and Zacharie, aged five and three, blindfolded during what has been described as a twisted 'treasure hunt'.
The boys were found crying and screaming alone on a rural road on Tuesday before Rousseau and Ballabriga were tracked down around 100 miles away at a cafe near Lisbon. The French couple appeared in court on Friday in handcuffs escorted by Portuguese police officers.
During the hearing, Rousseau was heard singing like an opera performer while Ballabriga shouted in French: 'I love you.' It was unclear who he was referring to. The pair are accused of domestic violence, child abandonment and child neglect.
A judge is expected to decide on Saturday whether they will remain in custody or be released on bail. Two European arrest warrants issued by French authorities are also understood to be active against the pair. They are additionally suspected of leaving another of Rousseau's sons, aged 16, behind in France.
It comes after footage captured the dramatic moment police arrested the mother following a manhunt sparked by the alleged abandonment of her two young boys nearly 1,500 miles from their home. CCTV footage shows Portuguese officers escorting the French pair to a waiting car after they were tracked down to a cafe terrace where they had been sunning themselves over snacks nearly 48 hours after the distraught children aged five and three were found crying and alone on a rural road nearly 125 miles away.
Portuguese TV broadcaster SIC, which obtained the footage, also published a video showing the couple arriving at O Vasco cafe in the city of Fatima a 90-minute drive north of Lisbon earlier in the day in their French-plated Opel. The new images emerged as Portuguese public service broadcaster RTP reported the couple had been overheard by a French-speaking Portuguese police officer hatching a plan to 'pretend they were crazy' after they were taken into custody.
Court officials are already said to have been made aware of the conversation Marine and Marc allegedly had in the car that took them from Fatima to a police station in Palmela 100 miles away after their arrests on Thursday. The couple are due to find out later this morning whether they get remanded to prison over the accusations of domestic violence and child abandonment they are facing.
