A jury has begun deliberating on verdicts in the retrial of wealthy aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner for the manslaughter of their baby.
Marten, 38, and convicted rapist Mark Gordon, 51, are accused over the death of newborn Victoria in a tent on the South Downs in early 2023.
The prosecution alleges that Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in the “flimsy” tent, despite past warnings.
The defendants have claimed their daughter’s death was a tragic accident and there was no failure in their duty of care towards Victoria.
Marten has told jurors that the baby died after she “blacked out” and fell asleep over her in the tent.
In his evidence, Gordon said that Victoria would still be alive had the police not pursued them after their car burst into flames on a motorway near Bolton.
Jurors have heard how the couple fled the scene and went off grid in an attempt to keep their baby after their first four children were taken into care.
Victoria’s body was discovered inside a shopping bag in a disused shed in the Hollingdean area of Brighton days after the couple were arrested on Monday 27 February 2023.
Her body was too badly decomposed to determine the cause of her death.
Marten and Gordon, of no fixed address, have denied gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing her death between Wednesday 4 January and Monday 27 February 2023.
Jurors have been told that the defendants were convicted at an earlier trial of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Judge Mark Lucraft sent jurors out to begin deliberating on verdicts at 12.08pm today (Monday 7 July).
Later, the jury was sent home and told to return to resume deliberations tomorrow morning (Tuesday 8 July).
Lets hope the jury find the right verdict and convict thes2 two evil oeople !!
I really don’t think the jury’s deliberations are really going to take that long. What a thoroughly shameful depressing case of neglect on behalf the “parents”.
If you had had your children taken by social services (who, let’s face it, do not have the best history) wouldn’t you hide the fact of your pregnancy in the hope of keeping your child. If there hadn’t been such a nasty relentless hunt of these people their baby would likely still be alive. If they didn’t want their baby they could have handed her over at birth and had an abortion before birth – from the videos they were clearly loving and caring for her but had little chance of making their living arrangements proper with the hunt that was on for them. I too hope the jury deliberate on the facts and evidence and find the right verdict.
“Systems” do not have peoples welfare as a priority, that is the main reason that people desperatly avoid them, sadly sometimes at any cost.