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.
Trial concludes for the day
The trial has concluded for the day, with the Recorder of London Judge Mark Lucraft KC due to conclude his summary of the case on Wednesday.
Jurors reminded of moment Marten and Gordon were arrested
The court heard how the couple were arrested after 53 days on the run.
Summing up, Judge Lucraft reminded jurors how the couple were spotted by a member of the public as they bought food from Mulberry convenience shop in Brighton on 27 February last year.
When police arrested them at nearby Stanmer Villas, Marten had what appeared to be furniture stuffing in her jacket as insulation.
The court previously heard how Marten told police her name was Arabella and said “you can’t arrest someone for hiding a pregnancy” when she was caught.
Read our coverage here.
Eyewitness thought Marten looked homeless
Judge Lucraft reminded jurors of evidence from an eyewitness who said she saw Marten looking in a shop window in East Ham, London, on 7 January.
The woman said Marten looked like she might be homeless and it appeared she was trying not to attract attention to something she was carrying under her coat.
“She looked like she had something wrapped in her coat, which initially guessed was something that could have been stolen or could have been a pet,” Judge Lucraft recounted.
“However in hindsight she thought it could have been a baby.”
That evening, Gordon bought a tent, sleeping bags and two pillows from Argos in Whitechapel.
Holiday cottage in Northumberland left in disarray
Judge Mark Lucraft KC is continuing his summing up of the evidence this afternoon. Jurors were previously told how Marten and Gordon spent Christmas 2022 at a holiday cottage in Northumberland.
The pair had reserved the holiday let called ‘Woodcutters Cottage’ for six nights on the Booking.com website.
Owners said they found the cottage in disarray when they checked out - with candle wax and cat litter on the floors and carpets, the bed throw stained with curry, and the bathroom littered with urine stains, the court heard.
When she gave evidence, Marten told the jury she had delivered baby Victoria unaided in the cottage on Christmas Eve.
Read more of our trial coverage here:
Judge is summing up the evidence
The Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, is summing up the evidence to the jury as the trial enters its final stages.
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.
Read our coverage of his evidence here
Trial resumes
The trial of Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon has resumed, with the judge summing up the case to the jury following speeches by both the prosecution and the couple’s defence lawyers.
Follow here for the latest updates.
What happened yesterday?
During yesterday’s summing up, lawyers for aristocrat Constance Marten claimed she is a victim of “nasty class prejudice” as they insist her baby’s death while on the run was a tragic accident.
In his closing remarks to the jury, Francis Fitzgibbon KC, defending Marten, said the newborn’s death was “no crime” after she fell asleep holding the infant, named Victoria, as she sheltered in a tent with her partner Mark Gordon.
“What happened to Victoria was no crime. But rather a terrible, tragic accident,” he told the Old Bailey on Wednesday.
Read the full article from our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin here:
Marten a victim of ‘class prejudice’ in trial over death baby with Gordon, court told
Marten’s defence claims the baby’s death was a ‘tragic accident’ after her parents took her ‘off-grid’ in the South Downs
Case to resume at 10.30am
The Recorder of London Mark Lucraft KC is due to begin summing up the case of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon from 10.30am at the Old Bailey.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates here.
Prosecution accused of ‘nasty class prejudice’ against Marten
Mr Fitzgibbon said repeated references to Marten’s “rich and privileged” background and her trust fund were a “distraction” and an “irrelevance”.
“The comment made yesterday about her upstairs downstairs attitude was just throwing a bit of nasty class prejudice,” he added. “Just another little smear.”
It comes after prosecutor Tom Little KC yesterday suggested Marten had an “upstairs, downstairs mentality” after she referred to a witness as a “random workman”.
Baby Victoria was not a victim of abuse, court told
Mr Fitzgibbon insisted that the infant’s death was a “tragic accident” which could have happened anywhere after Marten fell asleep holding her child.
He said parents are prosecuted in cases where the children are found to be have been abused, but “we say there is no such abuse here”.
“A woman who has given birth two weeks or so before will be exhausted by caring for her baby wherever she may be,” he added.
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