Constance Marten’s baby was ‘a girl she had named Victoria’: the runaway aristocrat’s daughter ‘was found dead in a locked shed, wrapped in a plastic bag, under a pile of diapers’ – as the mother and her lover face manslaughter charges appear in court
- Constance Marten and Mark Gordon appeared at Crawley Magistrates’ Court
- Marten and Gordon were scheduled to appear before the Central Criminal Court on March 31
Aristocrat Constance Marten’s baby is believed to be “a girl named Victoria,” it was said after the mother and her lover appeared in court today charged with manslaughter of their newborn.
Marten, 35, and her husband, Mark Gordon, 48, appeared before magistrates in Crawley, where the court heard the baby was found dead in a locked shed, wrapped in a plastic bag, under a pile of nappies.
They spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and that they had no fixed address during a brief hearing before a crowded courtroom.
The couple was remanded in custody on charges of manslaughter, perverting the law and covering up the birth of a child.
The baby’s gender and name were confirmed by a court clerk after the brief hearing.
Mark Gordon (pictured today) appeared in court alongside Constance Marten this afternoon
Constance Marten, 35, who went missing with her lover Mark Gordon, 48
As an autopsy on the newborn baby was due to begin, the couple were taken from the cells to Court 1. Gordon first entered the dock in a gray sweatshirt and pants and a gray sweatshirt on his head.
Next, Marten entered the dock in a similar outfit. She smiled when she saw Gordon and leaned forward to greet him.
The two sat at opposite ends of the dock and were separated by two security guards but spoke to each other while awaiting the judges’ arrival.
Marten, who has long curly brown hair, smiled as she sat in the dock while Gordon kept his face serious and his sweatshirt on his head.
Prosecutor Jeremy King said: “On January 5th this year a placenta was discovered in an abandoned motor vehicle with Miss Marten’s passport next to it. Miss Marten has been in a relationship with Mr Gordon since 2015.’
He said a missing persons campaign had been launched.
Mr King said the couple had traveled around the country in taxis and stayed in hotels. They were spotted buying camping gear in Whitechapel and most recently in Newhaven on CCTV near the ferry.
Mr King said: “Initially they refused to answer questions from the police. An extensive search was carried out in an overgrown allotment garden.
“In a locked shed, wrapped in a plastic bag under diapers, the baby was found inside. Life was declared extinct.’
Crawley judges were told the trial would be transferred to the Central Criminal Court in London.
Gordon and Marten were arrested Monday after police searched for them for several weeks
Sussex detectives and the Metropolitan Police launched a major search for the baby
The police carried out extensive searches in forests and allotments
Lewes Power KQ, defending Marten, said that while there would not be an application for bail on Marten’s behalf today, he would “notify the court” but there would be one at a later date.
The arrest of aristocrats Marten and Gordon in the Hollingbury area of Brighton ended a nationwide police manhunt that began when they fled with their baby seven weeks ago.
However, the couple were without their newborn baby when officers rushed in to arrest them.
Sussex detectives and the Metropolitan Police launched a major search of a public allotment near where they were arrested.
Search teams using sniffer dogs, drones, helicopters and officers using heat detectors struggled to find the body.
They alerted the police, who immediately came across a wooded area and allotment that had not yet been searched by officers.
At a news conference, Met Police Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said it was clear the baby’s remains had been there for “several weeks”.
They also said it was too early to give an exact date of death.
An autopsy is to be performed today by a specialized pediatric pathologist.
Marten and Gordon are scheduled to appear before the Central Criminal Court on March 31.