Constance Marten trial - latest: Judge summing up evidence as court case over baby death enters final stages
Marten and Gordon are accused of gross negligence manslaghter of the newborn
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The judge is summing up the evidence as the trial of aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon over the death of their baby enters its final stages.
The couple is accused of gross negligence manslaughter of the newborn, whom they took off-grid to stop her from being taken into care like their four other children.
The Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, began summing up the evidence to the jury at the Old Bailey on Thursday. Evidence recapped so far includes eyewitness Ken Hudson, who stopped to help the couple when their car caught fire on the M61 near Bolton on 5 January.
Mr Hudson previously told the court he fears baby Victoria would still be alive if he had stayed at the roadside with the parents until police arrived. But the pair fled with baby Victoria after he pulled away, leaving their burning car at the roadside along with most of their possessions.
Police later found £2000 in cash, Marten’s passport, 34 burner phones and a placenta wrapped in a towel in the burnt-out vehicle.
Marten, 36, and Gordon, 49, both deny the charges of gross negligence manslaughter of Victoria between 4 January and 27 February last year. They also deny charges of perverting the course of justice by concealing the body, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty, and allowing the death of a child.
The trial continues.
Proceedings today will start shortly
We’ll bring you updates as we get them from our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin who is at the Old Bailey.
What happened yesterday?
In court on Tuesday, Aristocrat Constance Marten was accused of making “fantastical” claims about “Mission Impossible-style” private investigators trailing her and her partner Mark Gordon.
A court heard how the couple feared they were being tracked by investigators hired by Marten’s wealthy relatives as they went on the run with their newborn daughter Victoria.
But lead prosecutor Tom Little KC dismissed their concerns - including fears investigators had tampered with their car which caught fire – as “fantastical” as he concluded his closing speech on Tuesday.
Amy-Clare Martin reports.
Marten accused of ‘fantastical’ claims about ‘Mission Impossible-style’ investigators
Prosecutors claim Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s baby Victoria died of hypothermia, but they insist it was a ‘tragic accident’
Good morning
We are restarting live updates on this blog with Constance Marten and Mark Gordon due back at the Old Bailey for the recommencing of their manslaughter trial at 10.30am.
Trial adjourns for the day
The trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon has adjourned for the day, with jurors expected to return for the remainder of the defence team’s summing up at 10.30am on Wednesday.
Baby Victoria died in mother’s arms in a 'tragic accident', court told
Mr Femi-Ola told the court baby Victoria died in a tragic accident and insisted co-sleeping does not amount to neglect.
“It was an accident. It happened and it can happen. It happened and it can happen anywhere that a mother and baby are together,” he said, adding 149,000 babies co-sleep with their parents in this country every single night.
“We suggest that sleeping with a baby doesn’t amount to neglect and is not unlawful,” he added.
He told the jury there is no evidence that Marten and Gordon were smoking, drinking or taking drugs in the tent.
“No, she was in her mother’s arms. It was a tragic accident,” he continued. “One can only imagine the sheer terror they must have felt when they discovered their beautiful girl had passed.”
Gordon’s lawyer denies the couple are ‘callous and cruel’
In his closing speech, Gordon’s barrister John Femi-Ola KC disputed the way the prosecution had cast the defendants.
He told jurors: “In opening this case, she and her partner Mark Gordon were described as callous and cruel.
“That woman you saw in the witness box over a number of days, ask yourself in all honesty, is callous the first image that comes into your mind?
“The name Constance is rooted in Latin. Constania, it means steadfastness, resolute, faithful, loyal, dedicated and perseverance no matter the obstacle.”
Mr Femi-Ola suggested that while giving evidence she had been “posh but polite, calm and intelligent”.
Defence claims couple bought petrol after baby Victoria died
Mr Femi-Ola, for Gordon, said the fact the parents bought a bottle of petrol on 12 January to ‘cremate’ Victoria supports their case that she died on 9 January, a day after they arrived in Sussex.
“The defence has been the baby passed on the 9th – they arrived on the 8th,” he told the court.
“We say the key – the real key – is that bottle of petrol. Why would the bottle of petrol be bought on the 12 January at the time in that petrol station when the baby is not with them?
“The bottle of petrol was bought because the baby had died.”
He said it was “impossible” that a witness heard the infant crying in Seaford later that month.
Marten and Gordon ‘fled in terror’ to keep baby Victoria
Mr Femi-Ola, defending Gordon, insisted the couple “fled in terror” after their car caught fire on the M61 on 5 January.
As an example of their heightened state of mind, he highlighted the 34 burner phones discovered left behind in the burnt-out car amid fears their messages and emails were being hacked.
“They fled. You may think they fled in haste. They fled in fear and they fled in terror,” he told the jury.
“And why do I say that? Everything is left behind…money, about £2000, all the clothing, all the possessions. All left behind. Because Constance Marten didn’t want them to take her baby away from her.”
Defence says it is a mother’s choice whether to register a pregnancy
Mr Femi-Ola, for Gordon, told the jury it is not unlawful for a mother not to seek medical care during her pregnancy.
“A woman can choose not to register her pregnancy. She can choose not to have antenatal care. She can choose not to have post-natal care,” he told the court.
“She can choose when and where to give birth. It’s her choice. It’s not unlawful.”
Trial returns after lunch break
The trial has returned following a brief adjournment for lunch, with more expected to be heard from Mark Gordon’s lawyer.
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