LONDON (BN24) — A couple who evaded authorities for weeks after fleeing with their newborn daughter have been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter, ending a high-profile case that exposed extraordinary neglect and deliberate attempts to avoid detection.
Constance Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 51, were convicted Monday at London’s Old Bailey after a lengthy and often tumultuous retrial that the judge said they repeatedly tried to sabotage. Their daughter, Victoria, was found dead in a shopping bag in Brighton more than two years ago, after the couple camped out in freezing temperatures.
Jurors determined that Marten and Gordon’s conduct fell far below the standard expected of any reasonable parent, concluding that their behavior contributed directly to the baby’s death. The prosecution alleged that the couple consciously chose not to protect their child, who was just weeks old, and exposed her to fatal risk.
Prosecutors argued that Victoria died in January 2023 from hypothermia or by suffocation as she shared a cramped tent with her parents in wet, windy conditions on the South Downs. Although experts were unable to pinpoint the exact cause of death, authorities said the circumstances made her survival almost impossible.
Marten and Gordon went on the run after their car was found burned near Bolton. The pair, whose four other children had been taken into care, spent weeks moving between campsites and sleeping outdoors to avoid police detection. Investigators believe they wanted to keep Victoria with them and were determined to avoid intervention by social services.
Their disappearance sparked a 53-day nationwide manhunt that ended when they were spotted and arrested in Brighton on February 27, 2023. Victoria’s remains were recovered two days later in an allotment shed, where police said the baby had been left for weeks after dying in the tent.
The case drew further scrutiny because of the couple’s backgrounds. Jurors heard that Marten had grown up in a privileged family, while Gordon had been convicted of rape as a teenager in Florida and deported to Britain after serving 20 years of a 40-year sentence. His conviction was disclosed during the retrial, though it had not been shared with jurors in the earlier proceedings.
Both Marten and Gordon refused to stand as the unanimous verdicts were delivered. Marten shook her head and sighed, while Gordon leaned back, eyes closed, and later declared he would “win on appeal,” calling the proceedings unfair.
Their trials were marked by repeated delays and combative behavior. The couple frequently interrupted proceedings, dismissed legal teams, and disregarded courtroom protocol. Judge Mark Lucraft KC described Marten’s conduct as the most confrontational he had witnessed in over a decade as a full-time judge.
Chief prosecutor Jaswant Narwal said the pair showed “little remorse” and deliberately tried to derail the process. “I hope these convictions provide a sense of justice and comfort to all those affected by this tragic case,” Narwal said in a statement.
Samantha Yellend, London’s senior crown prosecutor, called their actions “shocking,” saying their reckless decisions were motivated by a selfish determination to keep their baby at all costs, regardless of the dangers.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who led the investigation, described Victoria’s death as “completely avoidable,” noting the couple had many opportunities to seek help but instead chose to hide. “As a father, it is hard to comprehend how, instead of providing the warmth and care their child needed, they chose to live outside during freezing conditions,” Basford said.
Sentencing is scheduled for September.
bbc.com
