marina sabatier had a terrible life because her parents beat her up when she was two years old. Marina thought that her parents, Eric Sabatier and Virginie Darras, showed their love by hitting her. So, she took the beatings in silence until her body gave out. Marina died on August 7, 2009, in the family basement. She was cold and hurt.
Marina’s mother is in jail for 30 years, and Marina’s father died there.
Eric Sabatier and Virginie Darras got 30 years in prison for killing their daughter by beating her. The prosecutors asked the jury to choose between two sentences: 30 years in prison or life in prison. The judges picked the second one.
Darras could get out of jail 20 years early. Erik passed away in jail in September 2016 from cancer.
The last few hours of Marina’s life were especially terrible. Eric said in court that Marina was sitting on a chair naked when he got home from work. Eric told Europe1, “I hit her, she pees on herself.”
Eric told her that he put her in a cold bath. Eric said, “I slap her so hard that she hits the edge of the tub.” Darras went into the toilet and hit Marina, Marina’s father said.
He said that they kept Marina in the cold bath and would sometimes push her head under the water. He said Marina hit her head more than once. Eric said that Marina was given vinegar and a tablespoon of coarse salt by Darras.
He said that the couple took Marina, who was naked and shaking, to the basement, where they beat her even more. Marina lied to Darras and said she had a headache. When Darras left, Marina said, “Good night, mum.” “See you next week.”
She never woke up. She died of an acute subdural hematoma that was caused by hitting her head, being cold, and breathing in vomit. There was a lot of fluid in Marina’s lungs, which put her into a coma, according to the doctor.
Eric told the police that Marina had been taken away. Under more and more pressure from the police, Eric leads them to Marina’s body. The following is what state lawyer Chantal Moulin-Bernard told The Daily Mail:
“The child was locked in a cellar one night. In the morning, it was found that it was not moving.” The body was first hidden in a deep freezer somewhere else. It was then put in a trunk that was filled with cement.
Before she was sentenced, Marina said she didn’t deserve to be freed.
It’s not clear why Darras and Eric hurt Marina so badly but never hurt their other kids. “Both my stepfather and my mother beat Marina a lot.” Our son from a former relationship said, “We were never hit.”
The court thought about whether Marina’s parents were mentally ill and therefore had to target Marina. The psychiatrists who saw Eric and Darras both had serious mental problems, but neither of them had bad judgment.
Darras said she was sorry and didn’t deserve forgiveness in her last speech to the court.
“Marina, I loved you until everything changed. I ignored you and put you down until I hurt you. You, too, loved us until you had to protect us. Darras said, “I don’t deserve to be forgiven, and especially not by you, Marina.”
The mother of Marina said she would try to figure out why she abused Marina while she was in jail.
Eric told the judge that he was going to take most of the blame so Darras could get a lighter term. “My wife wanted me to take the most so that she could leave as soon as possible to take care of the kids,” he said.
Eric talked about his kids again in a short closing speech. Erik said, “All I want is to be able to say sorry to my kids one day and help them get back on their feet.”
Marina’s folks talked her into telling the police lies about how hurt she was.
By moving around a lot, Eric and Darras avoided being questioned about Marina’s bruises and health. But Marina’s teachers at the different schools she went to saw how weak she was and told the police. Eric said that Marina’s injuries were just mistakes when he was asked about them.
In July 2008, Marina was hurt, and two police agents talked to her about it. Marina, who was happy and smiling, talked about the scars on her body. Darras said, “I think I told her she wouldn’t see us again and that we could go to jail.” Eric said that deep down he hoped Marina would tell the cops about the torture:
“As we were driving to the police station, she told me, ‘Dad, I won’t say anything.’ But I knew she would eventually… When we went into the gendarmerie for the hearing, I thought I would be jailed; I would have rather heard her.”