Constance Marten and boyfriend appear in court as police unable to say how baby Victoria died
3 March 2023, 14:27 | Updated: 4 March 2023, 03:46
Aristocrat Constance Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon appeared in court today as experts were unable to found how her baby died in a post mortem.
The baby, named Victoria, was discovered wrapped in a plastic bag under a pile of nappies in an allotment shed where the couple had set up camp, Crawley Magistrates’ Court heard.
The court also heard the date of the infant's death was some time between 8th Jan and 27th Feb.
But an initial post mortem has been unable to find out how she died. Further examinations are scheduled.
Appearing in court together, Gordon, 48, sat with a jumper over his head in the dock, speaking to Marten, 35, as the hearing got under way.
Marten blew a kiss to Gordon as they sat in the dock.
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Prosecutors said “In a locked shed, wrapped in a plastic bag, under nappies, the baby was found inside.”
“Life was pronounced extinct - the charges flow from that discovery,” Prosecutor Jeremy King said.
According to the charge, the couple are accused of manslaughter by having “unlawfully killed baby Victoria.”
The couple were charged after their arrest following a nationwide search that lasted 53 days.
They were charged on Thursday night with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child, and perverting the course of justice.
The pair were remanded into custody after today’s hearing and will appear at the Old Bailey on March 31.
