A “SELFISH” aristocrat and her partner left their baby “like refuse” in a shopping bag after she died while they lived off-grid, a court heard.
Constance Marten, 36, and Mark Gordon, 49, allegedly concealed the birth of baby girl Victoria after she became pregnant in early 2022.
Constance Marten allegedly gave birth in secret to the tragic baby
PAMark Gordon and Constance lived off-grid in freezing weather, it was said[/caption]
The pair then went on the run to stop her being taken away from them and lived in a tent in the middle of winter, the Old Bailey heard.
Jurors were told Marten and Gordon have four other children who had been taken into care.
Baby Victoria was later found dead in a shopping bag covered in rubbish inside an abandoned shed like she was “refuse”, it was said.
Opening the case today, prosecutor Tom Little KC said the case involved “the entirely avoidable death of a young baby”.
He added: “A young baby girl who would still, we say, be alive if it was not for the reckless, utterly selfish, callous, cruel, arrogant and ultimately grossly negligent conduct of the two defendants on trial.
“They were the parents of that young baby girl. They put their relationship and their view of life before the life of that little baby girl.
“Rather than act in the obvious best interests of a vulnerable baby, one that they should have cared for and looked after, they decided instead that they knew best.
“They decided that they knew better than anyone else. No matter who they were. They decided to ignore the advice they had previously been given.
“And it was their selfish desire to keep their baby girl that led inexorably to the death of that very baby.”
The court was told Marten and Gordon 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”.
Jurors heard they lived in a tent with barely any clothes and no means of keeping warm and dry.
With “scarcely” any food, Marten and Gordon remained on the run, failed to seek medical assistance or even register the birth as they moved from “location to the location”, it was said.
Mr Little said: “When the hunt by the authorities to find them, which became national front page news almost exactly a year ago, intensified- so their desperate selfishness increased and so did the risks and dangers to that baby.
“This led to them camping in freezing and obviously dangerous conditions on the South Downs with insufficient clothing, equipment and food never once seeking any medical attention or assistance.
“And it was this grossly negligent and obviously dangerous conduct that caused the death of their baby daughter and which leads to them sitting before you on trial at the Old Bailey.”
The court was told the authorities were first alerted to the existence of the baby when they found placenta wrapped in a towel on January 5 last year.
The body part was discovered in a car that was seen burning on the M61 near Manchester, it was said.
Other items officers found included “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, jurors were told.
But instead of contacting police, Marten and Gordon allegedly instead tried to hide their whereabouts.
The court was told the pair also failed to hand themselves in after baby Victoria died.
Marten and Gordon deny 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 deny causing or allowing the death of a child, an alternative charge to manslaughter, between 4 January and 27 February last year.
Marten’s father was a page to the late Queen, while her grandmother was a goddaughter to the Queen Mother.
The trial, which is set to last six weeks, continues.
PAMarten gave birth in secret, jurors were told[/caption]
FacebookShe and Gordon then allegedly went on the run, sparking a hunt[/caption]
AlamyThe baby was found in an abandoned shed[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
