Newly released footage shows runaway aristocrat Constance Marten breaking down in crocodile tears as she is told by police that her baby is dead.
In an extraordinary case which gripped the country, Marten and her partner Mark Gordon went on the run with their daughter in a ‘desperately selfish’ bid to prevent her being taken into care – after their four previous children were removed by social workers, who feared they would come to harm.
The baby, Victoria, died in the flimsy tent, Marten, 38, and Gordon, 50, were camping in on the South Downs in the freezing cold.
After her death, the couple dumped their daughter in a soiled nappy inside a Lidl bag for life.
Footage released today shows the moment a police detective breaks the news to Marten that her daughter has been found dead.
The officer says ‘Constance, I can tell you, the baby’s not alive’ before then asking: ‘Is it your baby?’ To which Marten responds ‘Yes, it is.’
The detective then responds: ‘To clarify, you just told me the baby that we found this evening is your baby?’ The aristocrat answers in the affirmative.
Marten does still not show any emotion at this stage, until the detective says ‘Tell me about her, Constance’, at which point she begins to cry and starts to wipe away her tears with her hand.
Runaway aristocrat Constance Marten, 38, and her lover Mark Gordon, 50, were convicted today of killing their baby
Marten pictured during a police interview in an image released today in which she is told that her dead baby daughter has been found dead
For a special episode of the Mail’s award-winning The Trial podcast breaking down the Constance Marten verdict, click here
The duo shook their heads in the dock of the Old Bailey as they were found guilty of manslaughter on Monday.
Moments after being convicted, Gordon angrily shouted from the dock: ‘I’m not surprised by the verdict. It was faulty, it was unlawful. This is not over, it has just begun.’
Marten yelled, ‘It’s a scam’, before walking out of the court in fury.
It can now be revealed, following their retrial, that the pair have already been convicted at an earlier trial of child cruelty, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Scotland Yard launched a nationwide manhunt, spending more than £1.2million chasing the couple around the country after discovering a placenta in their car when the vehicle was ablaze on a motorway in Greater Manchester on January 5, 2023.
More than 100 officers pursued the couple as they fled in taxis, travelling hundreds of miles across the country from Bolton to Liverpool, then to Harwich in Essex, and on to East London before finally resorting to a freezing tent.
Five police forces joined the hunt, devoting 1,000 officer hours at a cost of £500,000 just to find the child’s body after the pair refused to cooperate when they were arrested near Brighton after nearly two months on the run.
Police were shocked to discover the millionaire aristocrat had hidden her child’s body beneath an empty beer can and discarded sandwich packaging in a disused shed.
Police released photographs of the flimsy tent the couple were staying in while on the run with their baby
Marten, 38, and Gordon, 50, dumped their baby in a soiled nappy inside a Lidl bag for life
Marten caught on CCTV while she was on the run with their baby
More than 100 officers pursued the couple as they fled in taxis, travelling hundreds of miles across the country from Bolton to Liverpool, then to Harwich in Essex, and on to East London
Marten and Gordon walking into Bolton bus interchange with their baby allegedly underneath Marten’s coat – the couple were on the run for nearly two months
A day after baby Victoria died in their flimsy freezing tent, Marten and Gordon dumped their baby in a soiled nappy inside a Lidl bag for life (pictured East Ham High Street, London)
Following two trials, costing taxpayers an estimated £1.6million, it can now be revealed that:
- Gordon is a ‘sociopathic’ rapist whose sadistic crimes were compared to the American serial killer Ted Bundy.
- A national safeguarding panel is now looking at the landmark case as police have called for new laws to protect unborn children;
- The couple were granted legal aid for their defence, hiring 19 lawyers to defend them at an estimated cost of £600,000 – yet she is a trust fund heiress worth £2.4million;
- Gordon attempted to avoid trial, claiming he was more notorious than Wayne Couzens, the Scotland Yard police firearms officer who murdered Sarah Everard.
Marten’s father was a page to the late Queen and her grandmother was a playmate of Princess Margaret, but her lover’s background could not be more different.
Experts have described Gordon, 50, as a sociopathic sex offender considered so dangerous that experts compared his sadistic crimes to the American serial killer Ted Bundy or Australian-American serial killer Christopher Wilder.
Hooked on violent pornography, Gordon was just 14 when he raped a woman at knifepoint in 1989 after breaking into her home armed with knives and hedge clippers, telling her: ‘Don’t scream or I’ll kill your children.’
Over the next four and half hours, the teenage rapist tormented his victim, telling her she was going to die as he ran the blade down her body, holding it to her throat and heart saying: ‘All I have to do is push and you are dead.’
The mother recalled: ‘I had no hope. I was told to say goodbye to my children because this was the day I was going to die.
‘When I thought he might be going to leave, he said “No, your nightmare isn’t over yet”.’
Franklin Nooe (corr), treatment director of a sex assault clinic who counselled Gordon’s first victim, described Gordon as a sociopath in the same category as Ted Bundy: ‘That’s the 5 per cent of the rapists, that’s your Ted Bundys, your Wilders that obviously enjoy it. It is something that actually fuels them.
‘They are a progressive kind of rapist that would lead to, I would expect, to go from just raping, to raping and murdering’.
Within three weeks of carrying out the attack, Gordon broke into the home of a second woman armed with a set of knives.
But as he crept into her bedroom, placing two seven-inch knives outside the door, Gordon was startled to find her husband home.
Gordon battered him around the head with a shovel before fleeing in panic.
Five police forces joined the hunt, devoting 1,000 officer hours at a cost of £500,000 to find the child’s body after the pair refused to cooperate when they were arrested near Brighton
Gordon was jailed for 40 years, serving half of that in the US before being deported back to the UK.
When he was sentenced for both attacks, the rape victim pleaded with a judge to never let him free saying: ‘I ask you to make sure that this man does not have the opportunity to destroy any more lives.
‘Someone who is capable of doing this, a cruel calculated act at this age is not going to get better. He is only going to do more harm in society.’
The rape victim, who cannot be named, welcomed Gordon’s conviction today, telling the Mail: ‘I’m very happy. This, once again, proves that our justice system works. They are too dangerous to be free to hurt anyone else.
‘Hopefully, this time, they will never get that chance again. Unfortunately, Victoria had to pay the price.’
Gordon hid his appalling criminal history from Marten when they met in 2016, keeping it secret until after they had a spiritual marriage in Peru and had their first child together.
It wasn’t until he assaulted two police officers in hospital after Marten gave birth under a false name that she learnt he was a violent rapist considered at ‘high risk’ of reoffending.
Gordon later attacked Marten when she was pregnant with their third child, throwing her out of their flat window and sending her plunging 18ft to the ground, hitting a car on the way.
As she lay screaming in agony with a shattered spleen and internal bleeding, putting her life and her unborn child at risk, Gordon didn’t call an ambulance and attempted to delay paramedics alerted by concerned neighbours.
Marten would spend the next eight days in hospital recovering from surgery, but Gordon demanded she should be discharged despite doctors warning this would put her life at risk.
The domestic abuse was the catalyst for a family court judge to rule their four older children should be taken into care for their own protection from a ‘violent sex offender’ whose actions had ‘put her life and the life of their unborn child at serious risk’.
Two years before the death of Victoria, District Judge Madeleine Reardon warned: ‘It is much more likely than not that in the foreseeable future the children will be exposed to serious physical violence between their parents.
‘It is quite possible that they will be injured themselves.’
Experts have described Gordon as a sociopathic sex offender considered so dangerous that they compared his sadistic crimes to the American serial killer Ted Bundy or Australian-American serial killer Christopher Wilder (court sketch of Gordon)
Hooked on violent pornography, Gordon (pictured) was just 14 when he raped a woman at knifepoint in 1989 after breaking into her home in Florida armed with knives and hedge clippers
Marten was unaware of her lover’s previous crimes and his time spent in jail when they met in 2016, keeping it secret until after they had a spiritual marriage in Peru and had their first child
When police discovered a placenta in Marten and Gordon’s car, revealing the existence of their fifth child, authorities were so concerned for baby Victoria’s welfare that an emergency care order was made on January 20 so she could immediately be taken from her parents.
Tragically, police did not find her in time to save the infant, who died of hypothermia, exposure or co-sleeping, experts believe.
Afterwards Gordon tried to avoid prosecution for his daughter’s death, claiming he faced a higher risk of jury prejudice than Couzens.
Neena Crinnion, defending, argued Gordon could not have a fair trial as he had been portrayed as a ‘black rapist’ on the run with a ‘white aristocrat’, adding: ‘Ms Marten was described as beautiful, refined, educated, an aristocrat who had links to the Royal Family, whereas Mr Gordon is repeatedly referred to as ‘the rapist’.’
In a scandal which raises questions about the legal aid system, Marten was granted taxpayer funding for her defence despite her huge wealth.
She attempted to claim a raft of benefits, including child benefits for her elder children after they had already been taken into care, and demanded to be given a council house after turning down a home in London paid for by her trust fund.
During their prosecution, the couple conspired to delay, lie and obfuscate repeatedly in a bid to sabotage the case, shocking one of Britain’s most senior judges, who declared that they behaved worse than teenage murderers.
The pair spun a web of conspiracy, claiming social workers were working with Marten’s aristocratic family to abduct their children and private investigators were bombing cars and spying on their every move, while police hunted them like ‘terrorists’.
But Prosecutor Tom Little KC dismissed Marten’s ‘grandstanding on a Premier League level’, saying ‘lies fell from her mouth like confetti in the wind’.
The unprecedented case is now the subject of a national child safeguarding review to consider whether new laws should be brought in to protect unborn children.
During their prosecution, the couple conspired to delay, lie and obfuscate repeatedly in a bid to sabotage the case, shocking one of Britain’s most senior judges, who declared that they behaved worse than teenage murderers (Gordon pictured giving evidence)
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who led the case, believes that lives could be saved if officers had the power to bring in protection and family contact orders before a baby is born to parents considered at high risk of harming their children.
He said: ‘At the moment police are powerless to protect that child until a baby draws their first breath.
‘If there was a change in the law, we could put contact orders in place to monitor the pregnancy and protection orders could be in place before that child is born so they could immediately be taken into care.
‘If you look at cases like Baby P, this could save lives.’
Following the jury’s verdict after 14 hours of deliberation, the officer said:
‘Today, the justice we have long fought for has been finally been served for baby Victoria.
‘The selfish actions of Mark Gordon and Constance Marten resulted in the death of a newborn baby who should have had the rest of her life ahead of her. She should have recently celebrated her second birthday, but this was snatched away by the very people who should’ve protected and cared for her.
‘This was an incredibly challenging investigation for the hundreds of officers who were involved in the search. Our main focus throughout the search was finding Victoria alive and we all remain devastated by her death.
‘As anyone who’s followed this trial will know, it was an incredibly complex investigation. Mark Gordon and Constance Marten deliberately avoided the authorities and continued to shield Victoria from us even after their arrest. This meant even the most experienced child pathologists in the country were unable to establish the cause of Victoria’s death.
‘We know today’s verdict won’t bring Victoria back, but I am pleased our painstaking investigation has resulted in those who caused her death being brought to justice.
‘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 throughout that officers were looking for them and baby Victoria. They also ignored medical professionals who directly reached out to them to say their actions were putting baby Victoria at risk.
‘In court, Marten said they moved around a lot to avoid ‘one single authority’ having jurisdiction over their daughter. Marten stated that her children had been ‘stolen by the state,’ referring to the social care system after her previous four children were removed from her by the family court.
‘I would like to personally thank the media for the positive support you showed throughout the search, the many members of the public who reported sightings and Sussex Police for the support provided in the arrests and subsequent search for Victoria. This support was incredibly important to the investigation throughout.
‘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, causing the death of baby Victoria.
‘Throughout the trial, both defendants made repeated attempts to disrupt and frustrate the judicial process, employing tactics designed to undermine proceedings and shift focus away from the serious charges they faced. Their behaviour ranged from non-cooperation and persistent interruptions aimed at delaying progress.
‘Despite these challenges, the professionalism and resilience of the legal advocates, the judge, and court staff ensured that the integrity of the trial was maintained throughout. Through careful case management, clear judicial direction, and a steadfast commitment to due process, the court was able to navigate these obstructions effectively. As a result, the jury remained focused on the evidence and, unimpeded by the defendants’ attempts to derail the proceedings, reached today’s just and rightful guilty verdict.’
The couple will be sentenced on September 15.
For a special episode of the Mail’s award-winning The Trial podcast breaking down the Constance Marten verdict, search for ‘The Trial of Constance Marten & Mark Gordon’ now, wherever you get your podcasts.
