Parents who abandoned children 'blindfolded in woods' heard opera singing in first court appearance

The couple at the centre of an alleged child abandonment case reportedly burst into song during their first court appearance.

Mum Marine Rousseau, 41, and her partner Marc Ballabriga, 55, are both accused of deserting her two sons in a forest in Portugal after blindfolding them and pretending they were 'playing a game'.

The pair were arrested on Thursday (21 May), two days after the youngsters were found 'screaming and crying' on a rural road by a local man, Alexandre Quintas, who alerted authorities.

He told Portuguese news outlet Sic Noticias that he noticed the French boys - who are aged three and five - on a road which links Alcacer do Sal and the coastal resort of Comporta on Tuesday (19 May).

"Through the car's rearview mirror I saw them coming towards me screaming and crying," Quintas said, before explaining what he had deduced from the information that the kids had relayed to him.

"To trick them, the parents blindfolded them and put them in the forest to play a game," he claimed. "They told them to go look for a toy."

The French brothers are said to be in 'good health' despite their ordeal (Newsflash)

It has been reported that the boys biological father - who is said to have reported them missing from France a week prior to the alleged abandonment - is now en route to Portugal.

Meanwhile, Rousseau and Ballabriga remain in custody and are facing charges of domestic violence, child abandonment, and child neglect.

The pair appeared before a criminal investigating judge in Setúbal on Friday (23 May) and were seen being led into court in handcuffs while flanked by police officers.

It has been reported that once inside, Rousseau began opera singing, while her other half yelled out in French, 'I love you', although it is not clear who exactly he was referring to.

The couple are set to appear in court once again on Saturday (24 May), while a judge decides whether they should be released on bail or remanded in custody.

The 41-year-old mum is said to have burst into song during her first court appearance on Friday (FILIPE AMORIM / AFP via Getty Images)

Despite their harrowing ordeal that is somewhat reminiscent of the fairytale Hansel and Gretel, Rousseau's two young sons are said to be in 'good health', Euro News reported.

Stills from CCTV cameras also emerged on Friday, which showed how Rousseau and Ballabriga paused at a petrol station en route to the woodland where the children claim to have been deserted.

A spokesperson for the GNR (Portugal's National Republican Guard), Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Canatário, also shared some details about taking the couple into custody.

He said the accused pair had spent hours 'relaxing' on a terrace at a cafe in the town of Fátima and appeared to be 'perfectly normal' - but said they roused suspicions of an onlooker, who tipped off police.

"It was precisely because they had been on the same terrace for so long that a neighbour alerted the authorities," the GNR spokesman told Jornal da Noite.

"She found it strange that they had been there for so many hours and contacted the GNR station in Fátima. She heard them speaking French, connected the dots with the news, and did very well to call the police station."

The French nationals arrived at the Setubal courthouse on Friday in a police van (FILIPE AMORIM / AFP via Getty Images)

Canatário said officials then conducted a 'discreet' operation to arrest the mum - who describes herself as a 'sexologist' and previously shared a string of bizarre social media posts - and Ballabriga.

The French brothers are currently in the care of a foster family amid the ongoing investigation, according to Euro News.

A court in Setúbal said that 'it will be up to the French judicial authorities, through the mechanisms of judicial co-operation, to initiate the process of returning the children to the State of their habitual residence'.

The publication also reported that after Quintas found the little lads on the remote roadside, police said that 'GNR soldiers immediately travelled to the scene, where they located the minors and ensured their protection and safety'.

"The soldiers endeavoured to provide the first care, ensuring food, comfort and an atmosphere of tranquillity and protection, particularly important given the age and emotional fragility of the children," the force added.