‘Lies fell from her mouth like confetti in the wind’

Prosecution blasts aristocrat accused over baby’s death

AN aristocrat accused of killing her baby has been ‘ grandstanding on a Premier League level’, telling ‘big fat lies’ to ‘trick’ the jury, a court heard.

Constance Marten, 36, and Mark Gordon, 49, were described yesterday as ‘selfish and arrogant individuals’ in a ‘toxic relationship’ whose baby ‘did not stand a chance’ after they went on the run to stop her being taken into care.

In his closing speech, prosecutor Tom Little, KC, said the ‘selfabsorbed’ couple neglected their ‘ freezing cold baby girl’ who would still be alive today if they hadn’t camped in the South Downs in the depth of winter.

He accused Marten of being a ‘serial liar’ putting on an act to ‘fool’ jurors, adding: ‘Lies fell from her mouth like confetti in the wind when she gave evidence.’

The couple fled police last January travelling across the country before camping in the ‘ bitter cold’ with newborn Victoria after their car exploded on the M61 motorway near Bolton. But jurors at the Old Bailey were told not to be distracted by Marten’s comparisons to Mary and Joseph seeking refuge in a stable.

‘This was a self-absorbed relationship between two selfish and arrogant individuals, and caught in the middle of that toxic relationship was a baby that was manifestly not cared for properly,’ he said. ‘She was neglected and exposed to dangerous conditions. A freezing cold baby with just a single babygro and vest. No hat has ever been found.

‘That is the cold, hard, brutal reality of this case. There is no point in soft-soaping it.’

One juror wiped away tears as Mr Little said the baby died in a tent and the parents dumped her body underneath ‘ detritus and rubbish’ in a Lidl bag.

‘Baby Victoria would still be alive if it was not for the actions and inactions of these two defendants. Nobody else is to blame,’ Mr Little added. The couple’s four older children had already ‘lawfully and properly’ been taken into care. He accused the mother of ‘grandstanding on

‘There is no point in soft-soaping it’

a Premier League level’, levelling false accusations against social workers and her own family.

‘Her false righteous indignation has been well crafted as an act to try to pull the wool over your eyes, to trick, to fool you,’ Mr Little told jurors. As for Gordon, he said his ‘silence is deafening’ after the father changed his mind about giving evidence.

The couple deny manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child. The trial continues.