Girl's body encased in concrete

The parents of an eight-year-old girl whose body was found encased in concrete have been charged with her murder.

Marina Sabatier was found in a storeroom at her father's workplace in the city of Le Mans, France.

Police say that they believe the girl was killed last month, with her body being hidden in a freezer before being covered in concrete.

Eric Sabatier, 37, and his partner Virginie Darras, 30, told officials that Marina had been abducted from their car whilst on a visit to a burger bar.

However, Sabatier subsequently changed his story on Friday, saying they had found his daughter dead from natural causes, and he hid the body in panic. Marina suffered from mild Downs Syndrome.

Both later admitted to beating the girl, and have been charged with murder, abduction and violence against a minor. They face life in prison if convicted.

'They beat Marina in an especially brutal manner, mainly because she was greedy and always asking for food', said state prosecutor Chantal Moulin-Bernard.

They locked Marina in a cellar one night and found her inanimate in the morning, the prosecutor said.

The pair are said to have hidden the girl's body in a freezer before placing her in a trunk and filling it with concrete, French authorities said. The trunk was found in a storeroom at Sabatier's place of work.

Darras and Sabatier's four other children were told Marina 'was on holiday at the seaside', Moulin-Bernard said. The children have since been placed in social care.

The case has sparked anger in France after it emerged that two primary schools had tipped off social services over bruises on Marina and her half-brothers and sisters.