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THIS is the moment “selfish” runaway aristocrat Constance Marten sobbed as she was quizzed by cops over her dead baby.
Marten, 37, and Mark Gordon, 50, were today convicted of gross negligence manslaughter following a retrial.
Chilling police custody footage shows Marten appear to cry during the interview.
Wrapped with a blanket around her, she places her drink on the ground when questioned whether the baby found was her own.
The officer conducting the interview said: “What we are going to talk about this evening. We are going to talk about a baby has been found.”
Marten replied: “Mmmm.”
The officer went on: “We have found a baby.
“Constance, I can tell you the baby is not alive.”
Marten again responded: “Mmm.”
The officer asked: “Is it your baby?”
Marten said: “Yes, yeah.”
The officer said: “So just to confirm you have just told me the baby that we have found this evening is your baby.”
Marten confirmed by saying “yeah”.
She then began crying when asked to talk the officer through what happened.
He responded: “Take your time. There is no rush. I can see this is very, very distressing for you and you are physically upset now.
“Please, I really want you to take your time. There’s no rush whatsoever. Like I said, and I promised you yesterday, I’m not here to judge.
This comes as…
- Constance Marten and lover found GUILTY over death of baby daughter after living off-grid in freezing temps while on run
- Chilling footage shows Marten and partner Mark Gordon after they dumped their newborn baby’s pram
- Gordon revealed to be an evil rapist
- ‘Wealthy’ Marten and Gordon used trust money for cabs while evading cops – but baby had no clothes before death
- The harrowing moment cops find remains of baby Victoria stuffed in a Lidl bag filled with rubbish
- A national safeguarding panel is now looking at the case as police have called for new laws to protect unborn children
“This is your interview. This is your opportunity to tell me what happened.”
In a police interview, Marten later said: “I had her in my jacket and I hadn’t slept properly in quite a few days and erm, I fell asleep holding her sitting up and she, when I woke up, she wasn’t alive.”
Jurors were told Marten had been warned by social workers about the risk of falling asleep with a baby lying on her and that a tent was unsuitable.
It comes as the couple were today convicted of gross negligence manslaughter.
Marten and Gordon lived off-grid with baby Victoria and the tragic tot died while living in a tent in the South Downs.
The infant had hardly any clothes or “means of keeping or remaining warm”.
Victoria, who spent “much of her life” in a Lidl bag for life, was later discovered dead inside an abandoned shed.
The pair were previously found guilty of concealing their daughter’s birth and perverting the course of justice at an earlier trial.
A 54-day hunt was launched for the pair after their burning car was discovered on the M61 motorway in Greater Manchester on January 5, 2023.
Officers found placenta wrapped in a towel, “new baby” nappies and newborn clothing, as well as “burner phones”.
A missing person‘s enquiry was launched as the couple travelled across the UK with CCTV piecing together their movements.
Prosecutor Tom Little KC said the case involved a “young baby girl who undoubtedly would still be alive if it was not for the reckless and ultimately grossly negligent conduct of the two defendants in the dock”.
He continued: “They were the parents of that young baby girl, but they put their relationship and their views of life before the life of that little baby girl.
“Rather than act in the obvious best interest of a vulnerable baby, because all babies are vulnerable when they are but some days old, they decided as they had often done before that they knew best, they knew better than anyone else.
“They decided to ignore the advice they had previously been given and decide that in the middle of winter and in obviously dangerous conditions they would deprive their baby of what she needed – warmth, shelter protection, food and ultimately one word – safety.”
Marten gave birth to Victoria without seeking any medical assistance in early 2022 and kept her “their little secret”.
During the trial, it was revealed that Gordon was convicted of a series of sexual offences – including rape – while living in the US.
Gordon, who was 14 at the time, broke into the house of a next door neighbour wearing a nylon stocking over his face and armed with a knife and hedge clippers.
He demanded the woman undress and attempted to rape her before carrying out the vile offences in the April 1989 horror.
The victim of his crime told the BBC she was “floored” when she found out the man who attacked her 36 years ago was on the run from police in the UK in 2023.
She said: “The four-and-a-half hours I spent with him was enough to know he is evil.”
On May 21 the same year, Gordon broke into another home with a shovel and battered a man inside.
The fiend was sentenced in the US to 40 years in prison, of which he served 22 years.
In 2017, Gordon was convicted of assaulting two female police officers at a maternity unit in Wales.
Jurors were not told that Gordon was also suspected of a incident of domestic violence in 2019 which left Marten with a shattered spleen.
Gordon had refused paramedics entry into their London flat.
She spent eight days in hospital then tired to discharge herself, with Gordon’s support, it was alleged.
When Marten became pregnant she kept it secret after a family court ruled a child would be removed from them.
The defendants fled, leaving behind the family cat named Sasha in a box, around £2,000 in cash, 34 “burner” phones and other belongings.
From Liverpool the couple paid a taxi driver £350 to take them 270 miles away to Harwich in Essex.
Cops said the reason for them choosing this location is unclear, but it is thought they may have been trying to leave the country by boat.
They also paid £475 for a taxi to Newhaven in East Sussex on January 8 2023.
After baby Victoria died, they were caught on CCTV scavenging in bins for food.
But jurors heard Marten came from a “very wealthy family”, had a trust fund and £19,000 in the bank, so she could have bought whatever she needed.
Her father was a page to the late Queen, while her grandmother was a goddaughter to the Queen Mother.
Despite her connections, the couple deprived Victoria of her basic needs until her “entirely avoidable” death.
Police finally tracked the couple down to Brighton on February 27 but they refused to answer where the newborn was.
Tragically, Victoria was already lying dead in the bag for life – hidden under nappies and rubbish.
Victoria’s remains were too badly decomposed to establish the cause of death.
The prosecution said she died from hypothermia in the cold and damp conditions inside the flimsy tent, or was smothered.
The defendants claimed their daughter’s death was a tragic accident after Marten fell asleep on her.
BEHAVIOUR IN COURT
The jury deliberated for 14 hours and 32 minute before reaching its verdicts.
Gordon looked to Marten before leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, will sentence the couple on 15 September.
During their trial, the couple regularly argued between themselves and interrupted the judge.
They also refused to attend several hearing pretending to be ill, which nurses later disproved.
Marten herself was represented by 15 separate barristers, including seven KC’s.
The couple were regularly reprimanded for talking to each other during the trials.
One jury member told the judge they were being distracted by the defendants.
Gordon often attended with a large sack full of papers, while Marten had a stack of files.
The couple smiled, chatted and blew kisses at each other in the dock during their first trial.
They continued to chat and smile at each other when appearing at the Old Bailey throughout their subsequent hearings.
When Gordon was giving his evidence, Marten mouthed words of encouragement to him from the dock.
She also described the prosecution as “heartless” and “diabolical”.
Moments after being convicted, Gordon yelled from the dock: “I’m not surprised by the verdict. It was faulty, it was unlawful. This is not over, it has just begun.”
He also said it was “a scam”.
Samantha Yelland, senior Crown prosecutor for CPS London, told the PA news agency today: “I feel that justice has been done.
“It’s been a long road, it’s been a lot of work but, you know, no work is too much when anyone’s died, but particularly a young child who wasn’t able to stick up for herself or fight for herself.”
Chief prosecutor Jaswant Narwal added how they “have shown little remorse for their actions, using different antics to frustrate and delay court proceedings”.
She continued: “These were challenging trials. No child should have had its life cut short in this preventable way.
“I hope these convictions provide a sense of justice and comfort to all those affected by this tragic case.”
‘SELFISH ACTIONS’
Speaking outside the Old Bailey, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: “Today the justice we long fought for has finally been served for baby Victoria.
“The selfish actions of Mark Gordon and Constance Marten resulted in the death of a newborn baby who should have had the rest of her life ahead of her.
“She would have recently celebrated her second birthday but this was snatched away by the very people who should have protected and cared for her.
“This was an incredibly challenging investigation for the hundreds of officers who were involved in the search.
“Our main focus throughout the search was finding Victoria alive and we all remain devastated by her death.
“As anyone who’s followed this trial will know it was an incredibly complex investigation.
“Mark Gordon and Constance Marten deliberately avoided the authorities and continued to shield Victoria from us even after their arrest.
“This meant even the most experienced child pathologists in the country were unable to establish the cause of Victoria’s death.
“We know today’s verdict won’t bring Victoria back but I am pleased that the painstaking investigation has resulted in those who caused her death being brought to justice.
“Victoria’s death was completely avoidable. The couple had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing and come forward and ask for help.
“They knew throughout that officers were looking for them and baby Victoria. They also ignored medical professionals who directly reached out to them to say that their actions were putting baby Victoria at risk.
“In court Constance Marten said they moved around a lot to avoid one single authority having jurisdiction over their daughter.
“I would like to personally thank the media for the positive support you showed throughout the search, the many members of the public who reported sightings and Sussex police for the support provided in the arrests and subsequent search for Victoria.
“This support was incredibly important to the investigation throughout.
“Speaking personally as a father I find it hard to comprehend how instead of providing the warmth and care that their child needed Mark Gordon and Constance Marten chose to live outside during freezing conditions to avoid the authorities, causing the death of baby Victoria.
“Throughout the trial both defendants made repeated attempts to disrupt and frustrate the judicial process employing tactics designed to undermine proceedings and shift focus away form the serious charges that they faced.
“Their behaviour ranged from non-cooperation and persistent interruptions aimed at delaying its progress.
“Despite these challenges the professionalism and resilience of the leading advocates, the judge and the court staff, ensured the integrity of the trial was maintained throughout.
“Through careful case management, clear judicial direction and a steadfast commitment to due process the court was able to navigate the obstructions effectively.
“As a result the jury remained focused on the evidence and found them rightly guilty.
“I would like to finish by thanking all of the Met’s homicide team for the resilience in the face of an extremely difficult investigation.”
