On-the-run mother Constance Marten has denied she “dumped” the body of her baby in a Lidl bag, saying she had been in the grip of “fear and grief”.
The aristocrat, 36, and her partner Mark Gordon, 49, are on trial after baby Victoria died while they were camping on the South Downs in wintry conditions last year.
Following their arrests last February, the child’s badly decomposed body was found in an allotment shed inside a Lidl supermarket bag also containing soil and rubbish.
Cross-examining Marten on Wednesday, prosecutor Joel Smith noted that a teddybear babygrow Victoria was seen on CCTV wearing was among the items recovered with Victoria’s “dumped” body.
Marten appeared to become agitated as she insisted that Victoria was not “dumped” in the bag.
She told jurors: “It’s awful, I know.
“The only thing I can say, if someone passes away the immediate reaction is panic. Mark and I were not in a good place. We were in fear and grief.
“She was not dumped anywhere. She was with us the whole time.”
Mr Smith asserted the couple were “hideously ill-prepared” to look after Victoria when they travelled from London to the South Downs.
Marten insisted they had a camouflage outfit, a couple of babygrows, a quilt, blanket and sheet for the baby.
The defendant, who described Gordon as her “amazing husband”, told jurors: “We had enough to keep her warm, absolutely. She was our number one priority.”
Jurors were shown CCTV of Marten carrying Victoria underneath her zipped-up jacket in east London last January 7.
In the footage, Marten appeared to adjust the baby after she slipped down in her arms.
Asked if that was an appropriate way to carry a newborn baby, mother of five Marten said she had “always” done it with her children.
She said: “As long as it’s secure. People carry children in their arms all the time.”
In further CCTV on the same day, Victoria was seen with her head tilted back as she was lifted up by Marten and placed in a buggy that Gordon had bought but was designed for an older child.
