Constance Marten, 37, and her partner Mark Gordon, 50, have been found guilty of the manslaughter of their newborn daughter, Victoria, at the Old Bailey. The couple sparked a nationwide manhunt after going on the run in December 2022, when Marten was heavily pregnant, in an attempt to conceal the baby's existence from authorities.
The pair, who spent thousands of pounds travelling across England and eventually camping in a tent on the South Downs in freezing conditions, were arrested in March 2023. Baby Victoria's body was later discovered in a Lidl bag for life, covered in rubbish and abandoned in a disused shed near Brighton.
Marten, who comes from a wealthy aristocratic family with ties to the Royal Family, became estranged from her relatives after meeting Gordon, a convicted rapist. Gordon had previously served 22 years in a US prison for a violent rape committed when he was 14.
Prosecutors argued that the couple exposed their daughter to dangerous conditions, neglecting her while camping with limited food and clothing. The court also heard they ignored warnings about co-sleeping with a baby. Judge Mark Lucraft KC is expected to sentence them on September 15, following a trial that spanned nearly two and a half years.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford of the Met Police said: 'Today, the justice we have long fought for has been finally served for baby Victoria. The selfish actions of Mark Gordon and Constance Marten resulted in the death of a newborn baby who should have had the rest of her life ahead of her.'
