Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
A couple who were arrested following a police search across the UK have been found guilty of killing their newborn baby.
Mark Gordon, 51 (08.06.74) and Constance Marten, 38 (16.05.87), both of no fixed address, lived outside in a tent in freezing conditions with their baby Victoria.
The court heard they went on the run with Victoria to evade the authorities after their previous four children were taken into care.
After a 53-day search, they were arrested in Brighton on 27 February 2023 and officers later found the body of their child in a shopping bag at an allotment where they had been living.
Today, Monday, 14 July following a trial at the Old Bailey, they were found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.
Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, who led the homicide investigation into Victoria’s death, said: “The selfish actions of Mark Gordon and Constance Marten resulted in the death of an innocent newborn baby who would have recently had her second birthday and should have had the rest of her life ahead of her.
“This was an incredibly challenging investigation for the hundreds of officers across the UK who were involved in the search. Our main focus throughout the search was finding Victoria alive and we were devastated by the outcome.
“We know today’s verdict won’t bring Victoria back, but I am pleased our investigation has resulted in the couple who caused her death finally being brought to justice.”
Investigation launched
Concerns were first raised on 5 January 2023 when the couple’s car broke down and caught fire on the M61 in Greater Manchester. Firefighters found the pair had abandoned their car and left the motorway before help had arrived.
The car was full of items, including nappies and clothing. A placenta was also found and there was concern that whoever had been in the car had recently given birth and could be in need of urgent medical care.
Officers were called and a missing person’s investigation was launched. Marten’s passport was found in the wreckage of the fire.
Through speaking to witnesses and viewing CCTV it later became clear that the couple had travelled to Bolton and then to Liverpool that evening.
Moving across the country
From Liverpool the couple paid a taxi driver £350 to take them 270 miles away to Harwich in Essex.
The reason for them choosing this location is unclear, however it is thought they may have been trying to leave the country by boat.
They arrived in the town in the early hours of 6 January 2023 and checked into a hotel. Marten gave staff a fake surname and CCTV showed she had a baby underneath her coat.
Concerned about the welfare of the couple and their newborn child, officers shared a public appeal for information.
This was being widely reported in the media and on 7 January 2023 they were stopped by a member of the public who asked if they were the people who were on the news.
Avoiding authorities
From Harwich the couple took a taxi to Colchester and then on to east London. They arrived in East Ham at around midday on the same day and went to buy a buggy from a branch of Argos.
The buggy they bought was too big for a newborn baby. They dumped it in an alleyway and transferred their child into a supermarket bag for life.
CCTV also showed them sitting in a restaurant in Whitechapel. This footage was the first time baby Victoria had been seen alive on camera since her birth.
The couple’s erratic and unpredictable movements across the country made it difficult for officers to trace them.
Travelling to Newhaven
Shortly after midnight on 8 January 2023 they couple paid £475 for a taxi to Newhaven in East Sussex.
Soon after arriving in the town they were seen on CCTV entering the South Downs Way.
This is a huge area of open land in the south of England. Officers carried out searches, but could not locate the pair.
On 16 January 2023 a member of the public spotted them in a tent at the Stanmer Park Nature Reserve near Brighton. It was winter and temperatures regularly dropped below freezing.
There were further sightings over the following weeks. These were not reported to police at the time.
Arrests
After more than a month living in a tent, the couple visited a shop in Hollingbury Place in Brighton on 27 February 2023.
A member of the public, who recognised them from the media appeals, called police and officers from Sussex Police responded quickly.
They were arrested nearby in Golf Drive, however there was no sign of baby Victoria.
Officers carried out emergency interviews and asked them both where their child was. Both refused to share any information and Gordon instead continually asked for food.
Finding baby Victoria
Over the following days, hundreds of officers from the Met travelled to Sussex to search the area near to where the couple were arrested.
On 1 March 2023, following an extensive search, officers found the body of a baby inside a carrier bag at a shed on an allotment where they had been staying.
Pathologists were unable to confirm how Victoria had died. Marten told officers she had died while the couple was sleeping but did not share any further information.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who led the search for the couple, said: “Victoria’s death was completely avoidable. The couple had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing and come forward to ask for help. They knew that officers were looking for them.
“We have waited more than two years to secure justice for baby Victoria and I am pleased we have now been able to get that for her – despite her parents trying to disrupt and derail not one, but two trials.
“I would like to thank the media for the support they showed throughout the search, as well as the many members of the public who reported sightings. I’d also like to thank the jury for their patience and resilience in having to sit through a long trial where they had to listen to Marten and Gordon’s horrific actions.
“This information was incredibly important, and officers travelled across the country to track down CCTV and speak to witnesses.
“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.”
Chief Superintendent James Collis, from Sussex Police, said: “The search for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon ended in the most tragic circumstances and had a profound effect on the local community in Sussex.
“Our thoughts remain with baby Victoria and extend to her wider family after what must have been an extremely difficult time.
“I hope the conclusion of these criminal proceedings will everyone the space to begin to come to terms with the traumatic events of the last 28 months.
“I would once again like to thank the public for their compassion and support throughout this process, and of course the police officers, staff and volunteers who took part in the extremely challenging search as well as those who have supported the investigation.”
The pair will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on a date to be set.
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