Boyfriend of runaway aristocrat is ex-convict
The boyfriend of a runaway mother from an aristocratic family who has vanished with him and their newborn baby is a convicted rapist, it has emerged. Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, disappeared a fortnight ago with their two-day-old child after they abandoned their car when it burst into flames on the M61 near Bolton. Gordon, who was born in Birmingham, is a registered sex offender who served two decades in an American prison for rape and burglary.
THE boyfriend of a runaway mother from an aristocratic family who has vanished with him and their newborn baby is a convicted rapist, it has emerged.
Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, disappeared a fortnight ago with their two-day-old child after they abandoned their car when it burst into flames on the M61 near Bolton.
The couple have used cash to pay for taxis and stay under fake names in hotels as they travelled to Liverpool, Harwich and Colchester, before being last seen in east London a week ago.
The missing persons inquiry took a worrying twist yesterday after it emerged Gordon, who was born in Birmingham, is a registered sex offender who served two decades in an American prison for rape and burglary.
After moving from the West Midlands to Florida with his family, Gordon was 14 when in April 1989 he raped a woman in her 20s in Broward County.
US court documents show he was also convicted of a “burglary armed with [a] weapon”.
Gordon was sentenced to 20 years in Florida state prison in March 1990. He was released in 2010 and deported back to the UK.
His arrival in Britain would have meant he would have had to sign on to the Sex Offenders’ Register.
The Metropolitan Police yesterday appealed to anyone who may have seen the pair to contact them immediately. Sources linked to the case fear the pair may have become adept at living off grid and avoiding CCTV.
It is thought Ms Marten, who is from a prominent and wealthy English aristocratic family with links to the Royal family, and her boyfriend have amassed a substantial cash fund to help them evade detection.
The couple are believed to have lived an increasingly isolated existence after meeting in 2016. Ms Marten dropped out of acting school and cut ties with much of her family, who once owned the 18th-century Crichel House in Dorset which has 50 cottages, a chapel and an ornamental lake. Gordon’s mother is still living in Florida.
The missing persons enquiry began at 6.33pm on Jan 5, after Greater Manchester Police received reports of an abandoned and broken down car on fire on the hard-shoulder of the M61 near Farnworth, Bolton. Detectives established the occupants walked to a nearby junction and flagged down a taxi.
Following unconfirmed sightings of the couple in Colchester, they were spotted at 9am on Jan 7 in Harwich, but they do not appear to have tried to board a ferry.
Essex Police seized CCTV images of the two near East Ham underground station in London around noon on the same day. As a result, the Met took over the investigation.
Detectives believe the couple and their baby could be anywhere in the UK.
Ms Constance and her baby, whose sex is not known, have not received any official medical attention. It remains possible she gave birth inside the car.
Analysis of the burnt-out vehicle suggests it was not intentionally set alight. However, their luggage was destroyed.
Det Supt Lewis Basford, who is leading the investigation, said: “Once again, I appeal directly to you, Constance and Mark. Please do the right thing for your baby and get in touch with us so that we know that you are all doing OK.”