The partner of wealthy aristocrat Constance Marten has blamed a national police manhunt for the loss of the baby he said they loved, saying they had been “deranged” at the time.
Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 50 are charged with the manslaughter of their baby daughter Victoria who died in a tent on the South Downs in early 2023.
The court has heard how the couple had fled from authorities to avoid their fifth child being taken into care amid a high-profile police hunt for Victoria.
The prosecution alleges Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in the “flimsy” tent, despite past warnings.
On Wednesday, Gordon said the baby would still be alive had the police not pursued them after their car burst into flames on a motorway near Bolton.
Giving evidence, he told jurors: “We had become deranged a little bit. We were off our heads.”
He said: “You have got two people being harassed by forces.
“Against this backdrop, why the national manhunt? When somebody chases you, what do you do? There was no hiding, running, off the grid.”
He said police should have considered their “panicked” state of mind when they found their burned-out car.
“If you have a woman who has just given birth to a child … why chase them if there is fragility? If that manhunt had not begun, things would not have happened. I had no intention to live in a tent.
“To chase two parents who love their baby. We did not want the baby to come to harm.
“It was the chase that precipitated these events. We were not in the state of mind where a sound decision can be made.
He added: “It is bad enough losing your baby. I have not had time to grieve and I am in a state of shock.”
Wearing a blue shirt and pink headscarf, Gordon became at times teary and was handed tissues while giving evidence.
He told jurors there had been “a range of calamitous events, one after the other” that had led to Victoria’s death, and that there was “never any intention on anyone’s behalf to be deceptive”.
The defendant said: “When someone doesn’t have a child around them it impacts them psychologically. When a parent loses a child they lose a part of themselves.
“It was heavy on us. It is important that this is understood – there was hurt, there was pain. It makes you behave in a certain way.”
He added: “There was no plan to go and live in the forest or live in the woods. It was somewhere to sleep for the night, nothing more than that.
“We decided we can do that for a day and then we can find somewhere more stable.”
Representing himself after his barrister withdrew from the case, Gordon earlier denied he had an underprivileged upbringing, saying: “Everybody faces challenges in life.”
He told jurors his mother was a hard-working nurse who was passionate and empathetic and had instilled those values in him.
He said: “The idea I was underprivileged was not the case. My mother had two or three houses. She always provided for us. She showed me empathy.
“In regard to my beautiful wife, who is nothing more than a passionate strong individual, she is nothing but kind and wonderful to me and meeting her was one of the best things that ever happened to me.
“It was love and attraction. We made a connection on a level, a soul connection.
“But there were challenges with that. There were forces there that did not necessarily respect that. Respect for people’s personal choices are important.
“That is where some of the issues arose. There were forces that did not agree with us, our position and they made it very difficult for us.
“It has culminated in this courtroom sitting in a dock with 12 jurors deciding our fate.”
Gordon told jurors the couple had previously worked with social services and “believed in them”, but were subjected to “such suffering and such discrimination” when their other children were taken away from them.
He said on one occasion, the couple were approached by a private investigator in a Pret a Manger coffee shop when they were living in London.
He told jurors that personal choice was “paramount”, adding: “If you feel you are being pursued, what can you do?”
The defendant said he and Marten were “not silly people” but that their minds were “warped” by what had happened to them.
He added: “It led us to making not wise decisions.”
On his reason for giving evidence, Gordon said: “I did not want to take the stand but I felt it was imperative I tell the jury what happened in this case, hopefully resolve issues.”
Previously, Marten has told jurors that the baby died after she “blacked out” and fell asleep over her after feeding her.
Her body was discovered with rubbish inside a shopping bag in a disused shed near Brighton after the defendants were arrested.
Previously, Marten gave evidence after complaining about a headache and toothache, but called time last Tuesday midway through cross-examination.
Marten and Gordon, of no fixed address, have denied the gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter and causing or allowing her death between January 4 and February 27 2023.
Jurors have been told the defendants were convicted at an earlier trial of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
The trial continues.
I’m not sure what issues, Gordon Martin wants resolved. Whether or not he felt that they were deranged, their baby’s dead, and I feel they should take responsibility.
Evil pair of fraggles, life behind bars for the pair of them,
Wow, they’re blaming everyone else except themselves.