Parents in France investigated for beating death of daughter with Down syndrome

From BBC News:

The parents of a French eight-year-old girl whose body was found encased in concrete have been held on suspicion of manslaughter, official sources say.

The girl, Marina Sabatier (pictured), was discovered at her father's workplace in Le Mans, south-west of Paris.

On Sept. 9 the parents told police the girl had been kidnapped.

Prosecutors say they believe Marina died after being beaten last month, and that the body was kept in a freezer before being covered in concrete.

Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation against both parents on suspicion of manslaughter, violence against a minor, and wasting police time.

On Wednesday the father told officers that Marina had been taken from his car, which he had parked to buy food at a McDonalds' restaurant near Le Mans.



Prosecutors say that after the body was found on Friday, the couple confessed to police that they had maltreated Marina - who had Down's Syndrome - but insisted that she had died of natural causes.

They told investigators that they had found her body in their basement in early August and, in a panic, had hidden it in a freezer.

Later the father is said to have placed the body in a container at his workplace, and filled it with concrete.

The couple concocted the abduction story as school authorities were bound to ask questions at the start of the term, police said.

They could face life imprisonment if convicted. They have four other children, who have been placed into care by social services.