Jurors shown footage of Marten baby
IMAGES of Constance Marten’s baby have been seen for the first time after CCTV footage of the family was shown to court.
Ms Marten, 36, and Mark Gordon, her 49-year-old partner, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of the manslaughter of baby Victoria.
It is alleged the couple travelled across England and lived off-grid in a bid to keep their daughter after four other children were taken into care.
Last January, Greater Manchester Police launched a missing persons inquiry after finding a placenta in the couple’s burnt-out car on a motorway near Bolton.
The defendants spent hundreds of pounds on taxis taking them from the North West to Essex and on to east London, the Old Bailey has heard.
Last February, Ms Marten and Mr Gordon were arrested in East Sussex and Victoria’s body was found in a supermarket bag, covered in rubbish, inside a disused shed.
Previously, CCTV footage of the couple appeared to show a bulge where the baby had been bundled up beneath Ms Marten’s coat and wrapped in a blanket or towel.
Yesterday, jurors were shown video footage clearly showing the dark-haired child dressed in a babygrow, with her hands and arms moving around.
Colette Franklin, a cab driver who took the defendants from Harwich to Colchester in Essex for £30, described how Mr Gordon “slid down his seat” when a police car came towards them.
On arriving at East Ham, east London, Mr Gordon passed Victoria out of another cab to Ms Marten, who was standing near the door. The baby’s fingers were seen curling and moving around in the footage.
Further CCTV of Ms Marten standing in the street showed her unzipping her jacket to reveal the baby. She appeared to cradle the child in her arms to comfort her.
The defendants deny manslaughter by gross negligence of the little girl between Jan 4 and Feb 27 last year. They are also charged with perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.