Jury Deliberates in Retrial of Aristocrat Constance Marten and Partner Over Baby’s Death While on the Run

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon deny gross negligence manslaughter or causing or allowing the death of their newborn daughter (Greater Manchester Police)

A jury has retired to consider its verdict in the retrial of Constance Marten, a 38-year-old aristocrat, and her partner Mark Gordon, 51, a convicted rapist, over the death of their newborn daughter, Victoria, who died while the couple was living off-grid in harsh winter conditions.

The pair are accused of gross negligence manslaughter, or alternatively, causing or allowing the death of their fifth child. Prosecutors allege that the infant died from hypothermia or possible smothering while co-sleeping in a flimsy tent on the South Downs, where Marten and Gordon had gone into hiding to avoid child protection authorities.

Victoria's decomposing body was later discovered stuffed inside a rubbish-filled shopping bag in a disused allotment shed. The couple had reportedly fled authorities for weeks, at times transporting the baby in a red Lidl bag-for-life, as they evaded a high-profile manhunt. Their previous four children had all been taken into care, and the prosecution argued that the couple deliberately remained underground to avoid Victoria meeting the same fate.

At the Old Bailey, Marten testified that she did not know whether she had “blacked out, fainted, or fallen asleep,” but woke to find herself slumped over her lifeless daughter. She and Gordon were previously convicted in a separate trial of concealing the birth and perverting the course of justice.

Opening the retrial in March, prosecutor Tom Little KC described Marten as a “trust fund child” who had “perfected lying to an art form.” He told jurors that the parents knowingly subjected their newborn to freezing conditions in January 2023 with only a babygro and no hat or adequate protection from the elements.

“They started camping in relatively cold and obviously dangerous conditions with totally insufficient and inadequate clothing and equipment for the baby and never once sought help,” Little said. He added that their chosen method of living—without shelter, warmth, or support—was grossly irresponsible and amounted to criminal negligence.

The court also heard details of Gordon’s violent criminal past. At 14, he was convicted of raping a woman in Florida while armed with a knife and hedge clippers. Just a month later, he committed aggravated battery during a second violent incident. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 1994, serving 22 years before being released.

During the retrial, Gordon, who represented himself for much of the proceedings, insisted that the couple had been “hounded and traumatised” by authorities. He said their treatment by the system had dehumanised them, causing them to retreat into isolation in a desperate attempt to keep their child.

“This case is built on fantasy,” Gordon told the court, asserting that the prosecution had mischaracterised their intentions and ignored the psychological toll of losing their previous children to the care system.

Marten’s lawyer, Tom Godfrey, said her “greatest fear” was losing Victoria. He explained that a nationwide manhunt, widely covered by the media, drove the couple further underground.

“The police appeal made instant headline news around the country. The country became obsessed,” Godfrey said. “Irrespective of the rights and wrongs, the net effect was to drive Constance Marten and Mark Gordon further underground.”

Following Victoria’s death, Godfrey said the pair were left in a “state of near derangement,” plagued by feelings of guilt and hopelessness.

Both defendants deny gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of their baby. The jury at the Old Bailey will now decide their fate in a case that has captivated the nation and raised questions about parental responsibility, systemic failure, and the consequences of life on the margins.