Constance Marten – latest news: Court hears baby ‘Victoria’ found with pile of nappies in shed
Name of dead infant revealed as Marten and Mark Gordon remanded in custody charged with manslaughter
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world
Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon have been remanded into custody charged with the manslaughter of baby “Victoria” after a court heard the remains of a baby were found in a plastic bag under some nappies in an allotment shed.
The couple appeared at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Friday accused of three charges - including concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and that they were of no fixed abode during a short hearing.
Gordon wore a grey jumper over his head throughout the hearing. At one stage during the hearing, Marten blew a kiss to Gordon.
An infant’s remains were found on Wednesday after a major two-day search operation in Sussex while detectives revealed the infant was dead for some time.
Local residents held a vigil for the baby lighting candles and laying flowers near where it was found earlier this week.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Timeline of couple’s disappearance
An aristocrat’s daughter and her partner have been charged with the gross negligence manslaughter of their baby after being arrested in Brighton.
Constance Marten, 35, and her boyfriend Mark Gordon, 48, were located by officers from Sussex Police in Stanmer Villas, Brighton, on Monday night after a member of the public reported seeing them shortly before 9.30pm.
The remains of a baby were found on Wednesday after a major two-day search operation in Sussex.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Timeline of couple’s disappearance
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were missing for seven weeks
Candlelight Vigil Held After Remains Found In Search For Constance Marten’s Baby
Moment police swoop in to arrest Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
Footage shows the moment police swooped in to arrest Constance Marten and her partner, Mark Gordon.
The couple was found by officers in Brighton following a tip-off from the public.
Moment police swoop in to arrest Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
Footage shows the moment police swooped in to arrest Constance Marten and her partner, Mark Gordon. The couple was found by officers in Brighton following a tip-off from the public, but were without their newborn baby. Police have been searching for the infant, and have further charged the couple on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. They were travelling by taxi across the UK after their car was found burned on a motorway in Greater Manchester. A detective superintendent on the case said the risk the baby was “so great” they “have to consider the baby has come to harm.” Sign up for our newsletters.
Pictured: Vigil held for baby found in Sussex
ICYMI: Remains found in woodland following search for Constance Marten’s baby
Remains have been found in an area of woodland following a major search for Constance Marten’s two-month-old baby.
On Wednesday evening, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford told reporters a baby’s remains had been found close to where Marten and her partner Mark Gordon were arrested on suspicion of child neglect on Monday.
As the investigation continued, police became more concerned the child had come to “serious harm” and the couple were eventually rearrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Confirming the discovery at Sussex Police headquarters, DS Basford said: “It is my very sad duty to update this afternoon, police officers searching a wooded area close to where Constance and Mark Gordon were arrested, discovered the remains of a baby.
Candlelight vigil held after remains found in search for Constance Marten’s baby
A vigil has been held at a church in Brighton after the remains of a body were found in the search for Constance Marten’s two-month-old baby.
Watch:
Candlelight vigil held after remains found in search for Constance Marten’s baby
A vigil has been held at a church in Brighton after the remains of a body were found in the search for Constance Marten’s two-month-old baby. People were seen holding and lighting candles in memory of the infant on Thursday evening (2 March). Earlier this week, hundreds of officers from the Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police scoured 90 square miles of land near Brighton in search of the baby, after Marten and Mark Gordon were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. Police confirmed they had found the remains of a baby on Wednesday evening and the pair have since been charged with the manslaughter of their baby. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
ICYMI: Constance Marten and Mark Gordon to appear in court after baby’s remains found
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon will appear in court after the remains of a baby were found in a wooded area.
The Metropolitan Police said they have both been charged with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Officers found the body of a baby on Wednesday in the Hollingbury area of Brighton, East Sussex, following a two-day search operation.
The infant is yet to be formally identified and a post-mortem examination is due to take place on Friday.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon to appear in court after baby’s remains found
They have both been charged with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
CCTV shows Constance Marten and Mark Gordon moments before arrest
CCTV footage shows aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon moments before their arrest on Monday evening (27 February).
The pair can be seen walking past a house at 9.25pm before being taken into custody by police in Brighton.
Ms Marten and Mr Gordon have since been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, with fears growing over their missing baby.
CCTV shows Constance Marten and Mark Gordon moments before arrest
CCTV footage shows aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon moments before their arrest on Monday evening (27 February). The pair can be seen walking past a house at 9:25pm before being taken into custody by police in Brighton. Marten and Gordon have since been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, with fears growing over their missing baby. Police are worried the infant may have “come to harm” as the pair have not provided any further information about the condition or whereabouts of the child. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
How Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were caught: A chance encounter outside a corner shop
Fifty-three days after going on the run with a newborn baby, missing aristocrat Constance Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon were finally caught – with help from a member of the public outside a corner shop.
The couple were recognised by a passer-by thanks to media appeals, and police swooped just six minutes later as they walked up a nearby Brighton street.
“Just after 9.30pm, yesterday [Monday] evening a member of the public – off the back of media reporting of images of the couple – sighted them outside of the Mulberrys convenience store on Hollingbury Place,” Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford told a press conference on Tuesday.
“They saw the couple withdrawing cash and dialled 999. The time between that call being registered and police arriving at the scene was six minutes.”
He described Ms Marten and Gordon as “heavily clothed for outdoor activity” and said they underwent medical checks in custody after being arrested on suspicion of child neglect.
Who is Napier Marten? Father who made emotional appeal for daughter missing with baby
The aristocratic Marten family has dominated headlines in recent weeks after 35-year-old Constance Marten, her newborn baby and partner, 48-year-old Mark Gordon, became the subject of a “high risk” missing person investigation.
Napier Marten had urged his daughter Constance to take herself and the child to safety as soon as possible.
Napier Marten, a film and music producer, is the son of Mary Anna Marten, a British Museum trustee whose godmother was the late Queen Mother, and who used to own the Crichel estate in Dorset.
His father, Toby Marten, a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy, had close links to the royal family, attending the Brownies pack at Buckingham Palace alongside Princess Margaret in her youth.
The late couple and their family lived at the vast Crichel House – used as the backdrop for several period dramas, including Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The ownership of the house, in the wake of the Second World War, became the centre of a notorious political scandal.
The late couple is survived by five daughters and one son, Napier Marten, who was a Page to Queen Elizabeth II. In 1996 he took a voyage of spiritual discovery in Australia, later returning to work as a tree surgeon near Crichel House.
In 2013 it was reported that the previously 5,000-acre estate would pass instead to his eldest son Maximillian when he turned 25 that year, after the death of Mary Anna in 2010.
The estate was later bought by American billionaire Richard Chilton.
Speaking to The Independent on Tuesday, Mr Marten said that he was relieved that his daughter had been found.
“For whatever reasons she and her partner went on the run, the consequences of their actions have increased many fold. It would have been far better if they had handed themselves in earlier.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies