Constance Marten, 38, and her partner Mark Gordon, 51, a convicted sex offender, were found guilty in July of gross negligence manslaughter by London’s Central Criminal Court. They had also been convicted of perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child and child cruelty
The baby was only briefly seen alive on CCTV in London, wearing the teddy bear-patterned onesie she was later recovered in. Representational pic
A British aristocrat and her boyfriend were sentenced to 14 years in prison on Monday for killing their newborn daughter while on the run from authorities.
Constance Marten, 38, and her partner Mark Gordon, 51, a convicted sex offender, were found guilty in July of gross negligence manslaughter by London’s Central Criminal Court. They had also been convicted of perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child and child cruelty. Gordon will serve an additional four years on extended licence.
The case began after police discovered a placenta on January 5, 2023, in a burned-out car belonging to the couple near Bolton, northwestern England. A nationwide search was launched as Marten and Gordon evaded detection by travelling across the country, spending large sums on taxis, avoiding credit cards and sleeping in a tent on the South Downs in southern England, where their baby Victoria died.
Her decomposed body was found weeks later in a shopping bag hidden under rubbish in a Brighton garden shed, concluding a seven-week search.
During sentencing, Judge Mark Lucraft ruled the infant had died from hypothermia after being exposed to “significant cold stress”, dismissing the couple’s claim that her death was a “terrible accident.”
“It is clear throughout the period neither of you gave much or any thought for the care or love for your baby,” the judge told them.
Marten had secretly given birth to Victoria after the courts removed her other four children, citing risk of harm. When the couple were arrested in Brighton on February 27, 2023, they refused to disclose the baby’s whereabouts.
Victoria was only briefly seen alive on CCTV in London, wearing the teddy bear-patterned onesie she was later recovered in.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said after sentencing that the couple had “plenty of opportunities to do the right thing” but chose otherwise. “Speaking personally as a father, I find it hard to comprehend how, instead of providing the warmth and care their child needed, Mark Gordon and Constance Marten chose to live outside during freezing conditions to avoid the authorities,” he added.
Chief Crown Prosecutor Jaswant Narwal said, “We were determined to seek justice for baby Victoria and honour her tragically short life. No child should have had its life cut short in this preventable way. I hope today’s sentences provide a sense of justice and comfort to all those affected by this tragic case.”
Marten, from a wealthy aristocratic family, was reportedly a drama student when she met Gordon, who had previously served 20 years in a US prison for kidnapping and sexual battery in Florida. He was deported after his release.
(With AP inputs)
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