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

Constance Marten: Police say baby found in woods ‘had been dead for some time’

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.

Key points

• Remains of a baby found in plastic bag under nappies, court hears
• Constance Marten and Mark Gordon arrive at court
• Constance Marten and Mark Gordon charged with manslaughter of their baby
• Police believe baby of Constance Marten ‘may have been dead for some time’
• Police seek extension for detention of runaway aristocrat and partner
• Body found in search for missing newborn baby

[2 March 2023 00:15 · Eleanor Noyce]

Friend of Constance Marten ‘warned’ her about falling in love with dangerous men

In case you missed it...

A friend of Constance Marten has claimed she previously warned the missing mother about the type of men she “falls in love with” but that she “doesn’t listen to anyone”.

Noisette Tahoun, who worked at the same film production company as Ms Marten in Cairo, Egypt, in 2010, said she was “not shocked” when she found out that the 35-year-old had been reported missing.

Speaking to The Independent, Ms Tahoun said she had told the heiress to “take care of the people she gets close to”.

[1 March 2023 23:15 · Eleanor Noyce]

Constance Marten: The runaway heiress, her rapist partner and the aristocratic family rift

They abandoned their burning car on the hard shoulder of the M61 and fled – an aristocrat, a sex offender, and their baby, born just one or two days before. From the inferno near Bolton, thought to have destroyed all their belongings, they travelled first to Liverpool, then to Harwich in Essex, to Colchester and on to East Ham station in east London, over the course of two days.

They went on the run for more than a month, and on Tuesday 28 February police confirmed the couple had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

CCTV images of the family from one of their last sightings on 7 January had placed them in the Whitechapel area of east London walking toward Brick Lane after 10pm. CCTV image show 48-year-old Mark Gordon, the rapist partner of Constance Marten, 35, leaving an Argos after purchasing a tent, which police believe the family slept in with their newborn baby.

Their faces remain covered with face masks and hoods as they can be seen walking through east London streets, Gordon in front and Marten behind pushing a buggy covered in blankets.

[1 March 2023 22:45 · Eleanor Noyce]

The televangelist linked to Constance Marten who claimed to heal Aids and counted Premier League stars among his followers

Nigerian pastor Temitope Balogun Joshua was considered one of Africa’s most influential evangelists. Born into poverty on 12 June 1963, he suggested he was a “miracle child” after claiming he was in his mother’s womb for 15 months.

As a young man he spoke of heavenly visions from God, having also proclaimed that he was “prophesied” 100 years before.

One of those visions led him to form his own ministry in Lagos in 1987 – the Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) – which would become a so-called megachurch in the city. At one point, it welcomed 15,000 worshippers each Sunday with visitors from all over the world travelling to Lagos to see it in action.

His rise to prominence in the late 1990s coincided with the explosion of “miracle” programmes performed on national TV by various pastors.

He became one of the country’s best known televangelists, primarily through Christian television station Emmanuel TV, and claimed to have healed all manner of illnesses, including HIV/Aids.

It was at his megachurch in Lagos that aristocrat Constance Marten spent several months in 2006 and 2007. The Independent has spoken to former “disciples” who have described the disturbing practices that took place there and how followers were subjected to sexual assault and psychological trauma. The revelations include claims that Ms Marten was forced to eat leftovers of the charismatic founding “prophet” TB Joshua.

[1 March 2023 22:15 · Eleanor Noyce]

Mapped: What we know about Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s runaway journey

More than seven weeks after their burning car was found abandoned at the roadside near Bolton, Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon have been arrested on England’s south coast.

The couple had spent weeks living off-grid in an apparent attempt to evade authorities.

The couple, aged 35 and 48 respectively, were apprehended in Brighton’s Stanmer Villas on Monday night, police said.

[1 March 2023 21:37 · Eleanor Noyce]

Crichel House: Inside Constance Marten’s aristocratic childhood home

This video gives a glimpse inside the aristocratic childhood home of Constance Marten.

The runaway aristocrat and her convicted sex offender partner were found and arrested in Brighton, without their newborn baby.

This video shows the mansion Constance Marten spent much of her childhood in:

[1 March 2023 21:00 · Eleanor Noyce]

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.

“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.

[1 March 2023 20:30 · Eleanor Noyce]

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.

They were travelling by taxi across the UK after their car was found burned on a motorway in Greater Manchester.

This evening, Sussex Police sadly confirmed that they had found a body in a wooded area.

Watch:

[1 March 2023 19:55 · Eleanor Noyce]

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.

Watch:

[1 March 2023 19:24 · Eleanor Noyce]

Detectives thank members of the public following “heartbreaking” news

Detectives who described the news as “heartbreaking for the community” thanked members of the public who had offered information in this evening’s announcement.

A massive search was undertaken over 96 sq miles around the Brighton area for two days, leading to the discovery. A post-mortem examination on the baby will be carried out in due course, detectives said, to find out how he or she died.

Ms Marten, 35, and her partner Mark Gordon, 48, were arrested in Brighton on Monday night, following a more than seven-week search sparked by the discovery of their burnt-out car on the M61 near Bolton.

The couple were detained by Sussex Police after being spotted by a member of the public, prompting the intensive search for their missing baby.

My colleagues Andy Gregory and Jane Dalton have more: