Following Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s convictions for the gross negligence manslaughter of their baby daughter Victoria, the Mail has released exclusive podcasts revealing never-before-heard details about the couple.
In this third episode of the award-winning Trial Plus series, veteran crime correspondent Rebecca Camber breaks down previously withheld family court documents that refute many of the narratives Marten spun during the trial.
On Monday, Marten and her lover Gordon were convicted of causing their daughter’s death after going on the run to stop her being taken into care. They will be sentenced on September 15.
Not only do the family court proceedings expose the apathy Marten and Gordon felt towards the safety of their children, but they also provide shocking details about the couple’s relationship.
‘They meet and immediately go to South America to get married for what Marten describes as a spiritual ceremony in Peru’, Camber told the podcast.
On Monday, Marten and Gordon were convicted of killing their daughter, Victoria, after going on the run to stop her being taken into care
Veteran crime correspondent Rebecca Camber has broken down previously withheld family court documents that refute many of the narratives Marten spun during the trial
‘Even then, he hasn’t told her about his appalling history – the fact that he spent nearly two decades behind bars in an American prison.
‘Marten only finds out after the birth of their first child, when Mark Gordon, at the hospital, assaults two police officers.
‘He then has to appear in court and it’s then that it emerges he has been breaching sex offender notification requirements.
‘She learns there is a substantial history with this man, and that he is on the sex offenders register.
‘The social worker who makes that note says that Marten, although surprised, seems totally unconcerned about his history.’
In 1989, a 14-year-old Gordon was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the rape of his neighbour at knifepoint while her two children slept next door, and for later attacking another neighbour with a shovel.
Gordon was charged with multiple serious offences including armed kidnapping, four counts of armed sexual battery, one count of burglary with a deadly weapon, and one count of aggravated battery.
Another shocking revelation within the documents relates to an incident where Marten was allegedly pushed out of a first-floor window.
While the couple tried to claim in family court that the event was an accident and that Gordon was being unreasonably targeted by social services, the documents reveal why the courts believed it was domestic violence.
‘This isn’t just a simple fall where Marten gets up and feels fine’, Camber said.
‘The documents show that she shattered her spleen and damaged her kidney. She had internal bleeding and needed a blood transfusion.
‘These are very serious injuries. Their neighbour made a phone call to the ambulance services at 3:35 in the morning, having heard screaming between Marten and Gordon.
‘She saw a woman fall 18 feet from the first-floor window of a terraced house. Marten hit a car – Gordon doesn’t call for any help at all while she’s on the ground screaming.
‘When the paramedics arrive, Gordon doesn’t even let them into the house. It’s why it’s so important we see these documents… this is a very clear case of a woman being thrown out of a window.
‘Gordon came up with the implausible story that he fell with her and landed on his feet – because the neighbour was the only witness and didn’t see the push, police have to say they can’t proceed with it as a criminal offence.
‘But this turns out to be a real turning point in family court proceedings, because they now knew there was serious risk of harm to Constance and their children.’
To hear more revelations from the documents and to discover why social services said they were scared of Marten, subscribe to The Crime Desk, the home of arresting podcasts from The Daily Mail.
Search www.thecrimedesk.com today for a 7-day free trial.
