Constance Marten and partner guilty of killing their baby daughter after ‘recklessly’ going on the run in winter
Constance Marten and partner convicted over baby daughter’s death
- Aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon have been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence in the death of their newborn daughter, Victoria.
- The couple went “off-grid” with their baby to prevent her from being taken into care, as their four previous children had already been removed by social services.
- Jurors were told that Victoria died in January 2023 while the family was camping in a thin tent in wintry conditions, after Marten fell asleep with the baby zipped inside her jacket.
- Prosecutors argued the parents’ “reckless, utterly selfish and callous” conduct led to the “entirely avoidable” death of the infant, who was deprived of warmth, shelter, and food.
- The parents, who denied manslaughter, insisted that Victoria’s death was a tragic accident and they should not be blamed.