Aristocrat Constance Marten, 38, and her partner Mark Gordon, 51, have been found guilty of killing their baby daughter, Victoria, after fleeing authorities in an effort to stop her from being taken into care. The couple were convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence in a retrial, after Victoria died while they were living in a “thin and flimsy” tent during cold winter conditions. They refused to stand for the verdicts, which followed more than 14 hours of jury deliberation, and Marten later shouted “it’s a scam” from the dock. The jury had earlier heard that Gordon previously served 22 years in a Florida prison for a violent rape committed when he was 14.

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Their conviction comes over a year after their first trial, during which they were found guilty of concealing Victoria’s birth and hiding her body in a rubbish-filled shopping bag. They were also convicted of child cruelty, but the jury could not reach a verdict on the manslaughter charge at the time. Marten, who had distanced herself from her wealthy family after meeting Gordon in 2014, gave birth in secret and went on the run to avoid losing another child to social services. Their first four children had already been removed by a family court. The pair travelled across the country with Victoria hidden inside Marten’s coat, using taxis funded by her trust money after their car caught fire. They later camped in the South Downs as police launched a national search, prompted by the discovery of a placenta in their burned-out vehicle.

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Victoria died when Marten fell asleep with her zipped inside her jacket in their tent in January 2023. The prosecution described the couple’s actions as “reckless, utterly selfish and callous,” saying they denied the baby warmth, shelter, and food. They were also accused of hiding the baby’s body in a Lidl carrier bag filled with rubbish, though Marten denied this. Following their conviction, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said they had tried to “disrupt and frustrate” the court process but that justice had been done. “She should have recently celebrated her second birthday,” he said, “but this was snatched away by the very people who should’ve protected and cared for her.”

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The couple were arrested after 53 days on the run, and initially refused to reveal the baby’s whereabouts. Eventually, Marten admitted Victoria had died in her arms, and officers found her decomposing remains in a disused shed. The baby was inside a shopping bag, under rubbish, “as if she was refuse”. Footage shown in court revealed officers removing debris from the bag before uncovering the remains. Prosecutor Tom Little KC said they chose to deny their baby essential care and shelter, and “it was their selfish desire to keep their baby girl that led inexorably to the death of that baby girl.”

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Both parents insisted Victoria’s death was a tragic accident. Marten told the jury she had “nothing but love” for her daughter and described experiencing “intense grief” afterwards. She said they even considered suicide and admitted to wrapping Victoria’s body in a headscarf and placing her in a bag. She added, “I just didn’t know what to do,” and expressed concern that the authorities would use the incident to justify keeping her other children from her. The court heard that social workers had warned her previously about the dangers of co-sleeping in a tent, and that her four other children had been removed after a domestic abuse incident. Marten insisted her children had been “stolen” and that Gordon had been wrongly blamed.

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She admitted neglecting her own wellbeing in her desperation to protect Victoria, saying, “I loved her so much I wasn’t thinking about myself.” She also said she told Gordon to lie to police about being there when Victoria died because she feared he would be blamed “being a black guy”. Their attempt to appeal their convictions was dismissed before the second trial began. At that retrial, Mr Little described Marten as a “trust fund child” who had “perfected lying to an art form” and argued that Victoria died from hypothermia or “grossly negligent co-sleeping”. A tent expert told the jury the baby was at high risk of hypothermia, especially in wet conditions. Prosecutors said the couple were “sopping wet” when they settled in the South Downs on 8 January 2023.

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Samantha Yelland, from CPS London, said it had been a “long road” but that “justice has been done.” Sentencing is scheduled for 15 September.

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