Marina Sabatier

On September 9, 2009, Marina Sabatier (pictured above), 8, was reported missing by her father, Eric Sabatier, 37, and his wife, Virginie Darras, 30 of Le Mans, France. The couple claimed that Marina had been abducted from their car while they were buying food at a McDonald's. Marina suffered from mild Down Syndrome, and her kidnapping made headlines capturing public attention. On September 11, though, police found the girl's body at her father's workplace in a cement-filled container. The couple was then arrested and quickly confessed to authorities that they had beaten Marina "because she was greedy and asking for food." They left her in the basement overnight and found her dead in the morning. They hid her body in a freezer for 6 weeks before dumping the body in the trunk in which it was found. The couple said they concocted the abduction story because Marina would have been missed at school. Marina was apparently abused often and was underfed. Her family moved about once a year to avoid scrutiny, but even so, teachers from two of Marina's schools reported her covered with bruises. The parents said she fell and the investigations were scrapped. If convicted, Sabatier and Darras could face life imprisonment.