Marina Sabatier’s parents are Éric Sabatier and Virginie Darras. While her father, Éric, who used to be a removals man, died in prison, her mother is still serving a 30-year jail term for the murder of Marina. The whereabouts of her 4 siblings are unknown, even though they were initially placed into care by social services.
The parents of Marina gained notoriety following her at the age of 8 in 2009 when it came to the limelight that they tortured and battered her until she died. The couple was sentenced to death for their crime before Eric passed away. Here is all to know about where all members of Marina’s family are today.
Marina Sabatier Parents
As stated, the parents of Marina Sabatier are Éric Sabatier and Virginie Darras, both of French nationality. While her father was believed to be born sometime in 1972, her mother was born in 1979, which means she is now 45 years old.
Details regarding how her parents met and if they were ever married have all remained elusive from the public domain. However, at the time they had Marina, they were not together. They separated when Virginie was pregnant, and Marina was taken into care after they had her. The couple got back together a month later, and they took their daughter back.
How Marina Sabatier’s Parents Tortured Her To Death
Described as an unwanted child, Marina’s parents tortured and brutalized her from when she was only a year old. She endured untold violence from her parents, who constantly accused the little one suffering from Down syndrome of being greedy for always asking for food. They maltreated the child to the point that they left many injuries on her body.
All that Marina Sabatier’s parents put her through was not invincible to people as her aunt was one of the first persons to witness the torture the little girl was subjected to. The aunt and Marina’s maternal grandmother did all they could to get state officials and social services to intervene, but they were unable to convince them of the seriousness of the issue.
Others who saw what was happening were those at the schools the girl attended. They saw the many injuries on the body of the lean little girl and were convinced that there was foul play. They also notified social services, but there was hardly anything they could do because their investigations led nowhere.
Marina’s parents insisted that their daughter had all the injuries on her body from accidents. More so, Marina loved her parents, and she was convinced by them to lie to investigators, and that helped Eric and Virginie get away with their inhumane crime against her. Also, they were constantly moving from one place to the other to conceal what they were doing.
August 6, 2009, Éric Sabatier and Virginie Darras took the abuse on their daughter to an unprecedented level that would cost her life. The couple beat up their little girl before dumping her to pass the night in the cellar. By the next day, all that was left was her remains as she died before sunrise, naked and cold.
Her Parents Tried Escaping Justice
After cruelly ending the life of their daughter, Éric Sabatier and Virginie Darras tried fooling law enforcement and escaping justice. They moved Marina’s body to a freezer where they kept it for a while before later moving it to Eri’s workplace where they dumped the body in a container and covered it with concrete.
Believing they had gotten away with their evil deed, Marina’s parents notified law enforcement that the girl was kidnapped from her father’s car when he stopped at a McDonald’s restaurant near Le Mans to buy food.
Investigations began and in no time and the story sold by Marina’s parents could no longer hold. The pair confessed that she had died and they had already disposed of her body. They took investigators where the body was dumped but insisted that she died of natural causes.
But then, they were contradicted by an autopsy which revealed that she died of acute subdural hematoma. This was triggered by severe head injuries, hypothermia, and inhalation of vomit. Another thing that was pointed out was that after the head injury she suffered, she was most likely submerged in water. She suffered a coma through the night before she died.
The tragedy of Marina became the inspiration for the 2019 French film, La Maladroite.
Where are Marina Sabatier’s Parents now?
Marina’s parents were made to pay for what they did to her as they were both sentenced to 30 years behind bars. Her father died in prison, but her mother is currently serving time.
Before the couple was sentenced, a trial was held, during which they admitted to torturing their daughter for a better part of her 8 years on earth. Virginie revealed that she could not explain why she did what she did to her daughter but she deserved no forgiveness from her daughter for what she did to her. In her final statement, before she was sentenced, Virginie stated that her daughter loved her and her husband, but they failed the girl.
Virginie Darras is currently serving time, having been sentenced on June 26, 2012. Her best date of release for parole is after 20 years, which means she may be out in 2032, without having to wait until 2042 to complete her sentence of 30 years
On his part, Eric Said he hoped to get the maximum sentence so that his wife could go and take care of their other kids, He added that his hope was that he would get the chance to apologize to his remaining kids one day and help them rebuild. Sadly, that day did not come for him as he died in prison in September 2016 as a result of complications from cancer. According to Ouest France, the news of Eric’s death was confirmed by one of his lawyers during the trial, Maître Boris Marie.
Marina Sabatier’s siblings
Marina has four more siblings, whose names have not been made known to protect them as minors from the media. The oldest of her siblings was born in 1999. He was a product of Virginie’s first marriage, which ended in a divorce.
Her parents had three other kids, but it was made known that none of the other kids suffered the kind of abuse and torture that Marina was forced to endure.
Following the arrest of their parents, Marina’s siblings were placed into care by social services. It is unclear where they might be today.