Aristocrat’s baby was a girl called Victoria
ARISTOCRAT Constance Marten’s tragic baby was a girl and had been named Victoria, it was revealed yesterday.
She was found dumped in a plastic bag under a pile of nappies in a shed, a court was told, as her parents appeared in the dock following the newborn’s death.
Marten, 35, pictured below, and partner Mark Gordon, 48, have been charged with killing their baby by ‘gross negligence’ manslaughter, perverting the course of justice and concealing the birth of their child following 53 days on the run.
The baby’s body was finally found on Wednesday but a post-mortem examination carried out yesterday afternoon was unable to establish a cause of death and further tests will now take place.
After a hunt involving hundreds of officers, the baby’s body was discovered close to where her parents were arrested on Monday in Brighton when they were recognised by a member of the public.
Prosecutor Jeremy King told Crawley Magistrates’ Court: ‘An extensive search was carried out in an overgrown allotment plot. Inside a locked shed, wrapped in plastic bag under nappies, the baby was found inside.’
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford has said it was clear the baby’s remains had been there for ‘several weeks’.
The couple first went missing in January after their car caught fire on the M61, near Bolton. They are said to have travelled with their baby, who was born in secret, across the country, travelling to Liverpool, Essex, south London and East Sussex.
Mr King said: ‘It was on January 5 when a placenta was found inside an abandoned motor vehicle with Ms Marten’s passport next to it.
‘They were caught in Sussex. When arrested and taken into custody for these matters, they initially refused to answer any questions asked by police.’
Bench chairman Carol Lintott remanded the pair into custody. Marten, who was born into a wealthy family with links to the Royal Family, and Gordon will appear at the Old Bailey on March 31.