Aristocrat Constance Marten and her boyfriend ‘camped off grid’ in the depths of winter with their newborn daughter, before the girl’s body was found wrapped in a plastic bag in a shed, a court heard today.
Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, are accused of killing baby Victoria in rural Sussex, after going on the run with the child between January 5 and February 27.
Their disappearance sparked a huge manhunt involving hundreds of Metropolitan and Sussex police officers, as well as search and rescue volunteers who scoured 90 square miles of land for the child.
The search continued for weeks, before the parents were arrested. Victoria’s body was found on a Brighton allotment, underneath a pile of nappies, on March 1.
The couple are charged with the manslaughter of Victoria by gross negligence, concealment of the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Aristocrat Constance Marten is accused of killing baby Victoria in rural Sussex, after going on the run with the child between January 5 and February 27, alongside her partner Mark Gordon
A court heard today the body of Marten’s daughter Victoria, had been found buried under nappies in an allotment shed in Brighton. Pictured: Aristocrat Marten
The couple (pictured) are charged with the manslaughter of Victoria by gross negligence, concealment of the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice
They are also charged with child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child between January 4 and February 27.
Marten appeared at the Old Bailey today wearing a white flowery blouse and red lipstick.
Today she applied for bail but Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, refused and she remains remanded in custody.
Marten and Gordon were first reported missing on January 5 after their car caught fire on the M61 near Bolton.
It was thought Marten had only given birth a few days before and had not been assessed by medical professionals.
Over the following days, there were sightings in a number of places, including Liverpool, Essex, south London and East Sussex.
On one occasion, the couple were caught on CCTV wearing heavy outdoor clothing and carrying bags down the street. They had also been seen sleeping rough in a blue tent.
The pair avoided being traced by the police by only making payments in cash and booking hotels using false names.
A previous court drawing of Gordon, who is charged with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice
Gordon being led out of Crawley Police Station in March after being charged with manslaughter alongside his partner Marten
The family’s disappearance sparked a huge police man hunt involving hundreds of officers and volunteers
Police teams wandering through the woodland on March 1 as they continued to look for baby Victoria
Police officers pictured in March searching allotments near the Downs in Sussex
Marten was born into a wealthy family with royal connections, growing up at the Dorset estate Crichel House.
Marten’s estranged father Napier Marten is a former page to Queen Elizabeth II. Her grandmother was the Queen Mother’s goddaughter and used to be a playmate of Princess Margaret as a child.
Once considered a promising drama student, Marten met Gordon in 2016. They went onto live a nomadic lifestyle after abandoning their south-east London home last September.
Marten worked as a freelance photographer before starting her drama course, and dropped out when she met Gordon.
Mr Marten and her mother Virginie de Selliers made public pleas for Constance’s whereabouts through the media while police offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the couple being found.
Marten and Gordon will next appear for a mention hearing to consider custody time limits on August 25.
A four-to-six week trial date has been set for January 2 next year.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk