Aristocrat and partner found guilty of concealing birth of child
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were living off-grid, trying to evade authorities, the Old Bailey heard
Last updated 1st Jul 2024
The parents of a newborn baby girl found dead in a shopping bag in Brighton have been found guilty of hiding the birth of their baby, it can now be reported.
Dorset aristocrat Constance Marten and Mark Gordon went off grid with daughter Victoria to evade authorities after four other children were taken into care, the Old Bailey heard.
Over seven weeks, the couple travelled across England and slept in a tent on the South Downs as police searched for the missing baby.
Two days after their arrests in Brighton in February last year, Victoria's decomposed body was found in an allotment shed at Hollingbury inside a Lidl bag-for-life.
A jury at the Old Bailey found the couple guilty of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice, it can now be reported.
The couple had also faced charges of child cruelty, manslaughter by gross negligence and causing or allowing the death of a child, all of which they denied.
Jurors began deliberating on April 30th and were discharged on June 19th after more than 72 hours of deliberation.
On Wednesday (26th June), prosecutor Tom Little KC announced the Crown would seek a retrial as Judge Mark Lucraft KC allowed reporting of the two verdicts.
Judge Lucraft set a provisional six to eight-week retrial from March 3rd next year.
Jurors heard Marten, 37 and Gordon, 50, went missing in January last year.
Their car was found burnt out on the hard shoulder of the M61 near Bolton.
Police launched a missing person investigation after a placenta was found in the burnt remains.
Authorities also found nappies, dummies, a baby's sleeping bag, a bible, 30 mobile phones, and a cat in a carrier.
Weeks later eyewitnesses and CCTV picked the pair up in Brighton where they were arrested shortly afterwards, but there was no baby to be found.
A large scale search covering over 90 square miles was launched using over 200 officers - Marten and Gordon refused to give details on the whereabouts of their baby.
Marten, who was born into an aristocratic family in Dorset, was a beneficiary of a trust fund from her grandmother.
She had been in dispute that she was not being fairly treated compared to her siblings whom she was estranged, the court heard.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, from the Metropolitan Police, said:
"Following today’s hearing before His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft KC, I can now confirm that Mark Gordon and Constance Marten have been convicted of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
“The jury could not reach a verdict for both Mark Gordon and Constance Marten on other charges and the investigation team from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, alongside our partners from the Crown Prosecution Service, will now prepare for a re-trial in March 2025.
“We will not be making any further public statements until the conclusion of the re-trial.
“Our focus has always been, and remains, securing justice for baby Victoria.”