The baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon was kept “warm and dry and was fed”, a defence barrister has claimed.
Outlining the defence argument, John Femi-Ola, representing Gordon, said that the baby was “well cared for” and “did not require medical assistance”.
After the baby – who was to be called Victoria – had died, petrol was purchased to cremate the child but the couple decided against the idea, Mr Femi-Ola added.
He was addressing the jury at the Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, in London, where the couple are on trial for manslaughter by gross negligence.
Marten, 36, “wanted to find out why her beloved baby died”, jurors were told.
She did not attend court again today (Friday 26 January).
Gordon, 49, sat in the dock wearing a blue shirt and dark blue tie.
The jury was previously told how the couple travelled across England in cars and taxis, with the newborn baby tucked underneath Marten’s coat and later kept in a Lidl bag for life.
Mr Femi-Ola said: “The defence’s case is that baby Victoria was born on Saturday 24 December 2022 and that she died on Monday 9 January 2023.
“Constance Marten said that, after the baby died, she did not know what to do.
“There was an attempt to preserve the body. She wanted to find out why her beloved baby died. Yes, beloved.”
Marten and Gordon kept the baby in a tent in the middle of a cold winter, depriving it of “warmth, shelter and food”, prosecutors allege.
Mr Femi-Ola disputed the claim and insisted that the baby was “well cared for”.
He told the jury: “The baby was kept warm and dry and was fed such that she was well nourished. The baby did not require medical assistance … there is no evidence of any violence.
“What Constance Marten had to say to police about the death of baby Victoria is entirely consistent with the findings of pathologists.
“The crown say that they went off the grid. Were they driven off the grid?”
Gordon and Marten, of no fixed address, deny manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The trial continues.
