A RUNAWAY aristocrat and her lover are facing a retrial after jurors failed to reach verdicts on whether they killed their baby.
Constance Marten , 36, and partner Mark Gordon, 49, evaded cops for 54 days with baby Victoria after allegedly hiding her birth.
Central NewsConstance Marten stood trial accused of killing her baby[/caption]
Central NewsShe and Mark Gordon went on the run for 54 days[/caption]
They were accused of failing to provide basic care for their daughterPA
The pair went “off-grid” – living in a “thin and flimsy” tent in the middle of winter – as they feared the tot would be taken away from them like their other four children, it was said.
Victoria, who spent “much of her life” in a Lidl bag for life, was later discovered dead inside an abandoned shed like she was “refuse”.
The jury, who were sent out on April 30, were today unable to reach verdicts after more than 72 hours deliberation.
This means Marten and Gordon are now likely to face a retrial.
The pair were accused of manslaughter by gross negligence, concealment of the birth of a child, cruelty to a person under 16 and perverting the course of justice.
They also denied causing or allowing the death of a child, an alternative charge to manslaughter, between 4 January and 27 February last year.
Jurors heard a 54-day hunt was launched for the pair after their burning car was discovered on the M61 motorway in Greater Manchester on January 5.
Officers allegedly found placenta wrapped in a towel, “new baby” nappies and newborn clothing, as well as “burner phones”.
A missing person‘s enquiry was launched, which became “bigger and bigger news” as time went on.
But instead of contacting police, Marten and Gordon were accused of trying to hide their whereabouts.
The couple travelled across England – including spending £400 on a taxi from Liverpool to Essex using “wealthy” Marten’s trust fund.
Marten, whose family lived at Dorset estate Crichel House, received nearly £19,000 in payments into her account from the trust while on the run, jurors heard.
Her father was a page to the late Queen, while her grandmother was a goddaughter to the Queen Mother.
Despite her connections, the couple allegedly chose to “deprive the baby of what she needed” – including “warmth, shelter and food and ultimately safety”.
In the middle of a “cold winter and in cruel and obviously dangerous weather conditions”, the pair “essentially went off-grid”, the court heard.
With “scarcely” any food, Marten and Gordon allegedly remained on the run, failed to seek medical assistance or even register the birth as they moved from “location to location”.
CCTV pieced together the pair’s movements as they lived in a tent with barely any clothes and no means of keeping warm and dry.
On January 12 last year Marten was seen filling up a bottle with petrol before purchasing three packs of Jacob’s Mini Cheddars and a newspaper.
Jurors heard she planned to cremate baby Victoria after discovering her dead inside her coat but later changed her mind.
Timeline of baby ‘killing’ – how couple evaded cops
CONSTANCE Marten and Mark Gordon allegedly sparked a 54-day manhunt across the UK after vanishing with their baby Victoria.
Here’s how the pair’s journey began…
December 20, 2022
Marten and Gordon booked into a holiday cottage in Northumberland, with the rental due to end on Boxing Day. The owner told jurors he found the property in “something of a state” on December 28.
December 24, 2022
The couple claim their baby daughter was born this day but this has been disputed by prosecutors.
December 28, 2022
Their Suzuki broke down on the M18 motorway so a recovery driver took them to a nearby Sainsbury’s. There was allegedly no sign of the baby but the back and side windows of the car had been blocked by clothing.
January 4, 2023
Marten and Gordon checked into the Ibis hotel at the Lymm Services in Cheshire then later the AC Hotel in Manchester.
January 5, 2023
The couple’s Peugeot 206 catches fire on the M61 motorway in Greater Manchester. Police launch an urgent probe after finding placenta, burner phones and Marten’s passport, jurors were told.
She and Gordon are taken to a Morrisons store in Bolton by a member of the public before being seen on CCTV at the nearby Bolton Interchange station.
The couple allegedly use Marten’s trust for a taxi to Liverpool, then a £400 cab to Harwich in Essex.
Cab driver Ali Yaryar, who picked the couple up from Liverpool, told the court: “I think the baby had no clothes”.
January 6, 2023
The couple arrive in Harwich and check into a Premier Inn at around 3am. They later move to the Fryatt Hotel, where they paid in cash, it was said.
January 7, 2023
Marten and Gordon travel by taxi to Colchester then to East Ham in London. The couple allegedly buy a buggy from Argos then grab another cab to Whitechapel.
They ate in a Brick Lane restaurant then dump the new buggy – choosing instead to keep Victoria in a Lidl bag, jurors heard.
January 8, 2023
The couple spend £475 on a taxi from Hornsey to Newhaven in East Sussex and walk to the South Downs National Park.
January 9, 2023
Both Marten and Gordon claim baby Victoria died on this day – making her 16 days old, the court was told. It is said there is no way of knowing this for sure.
January 12, 2023
Marten is captured buying snacks and petrol with cash but there was no sign of the baby. Prosecutors say she bought the fuel to cremate the baby but changed her mind.
January 16, 2023
Marten and Gordon are seen setting up a tent in Stanmer Park Nature Reserve in the South Downs despite the cold weather.
February 16/17, 2023
The couple are spotted near Hollingbury Golf Course in rural Sussex allegedly pushing a buggy with no baby. Their tent is later seen in Coldean Lane in Brighton
A driver sees the pair walking towards Stanmer Park with something under Marten’s puffer jacket, the court heard.
February 19, 2023
Gordon and Marten are allegedly seen in their tent in the park with a very young baby with a “wobbly” head. Jurors told the baby had no socks, blanket or hat on.
February 27, 2023
The couple are arrested in Hollingbury Place in Brighton but do not reveal Victoria’s location at first, it is said.
March 1, 2023
Tragic Victoria is found dead in a Lidl bag covered in rubbish inside a disused shed “like refuse”, the court is told.
Police finally tracked the couple down to Brighton on February 27 but they refused to answer where the newborn was.
Tragically, Victoria was already lying dead in the bag for life – hidden under nappies and rubbish.
Marten and Gordon denied manslaughter by gross negligence, concealment of the birth of a child, cruelty to a person under 16 and perverting the course of justice.
They also denied causing or allowing the death of a child, an alternative charge to manslaughter, between 4 January and 27 February last year.
PAMarten and Gordon denied manslaughter by gross negligence[/caption]
Baby Victoria was found in a disused shed Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
