Couple arrested as baby is feared dead
The hunt for the infant spans 90 square miles across the Sussex Downs, although hopes are fading
Constance Marten’s newborn baby is feared to have died, police have said, as the missing aristocrat and her partner were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. The police search for the infant, born in secret in the back of a car two months ago, spans 90 square miles across Brighton and Sussex Downs. Fears that the baby “may have come to some harm” emerged after Ms Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, were arrested without their child on Monday night.
CONSTANCE MARTEN’S newborn baby is feared to have died, police have said, as the runaway aristocrat and her partner were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
The police search for the infant, born in secret in the back of a car two months ago, now spans 90 square miles across Brighton and the Sussex Downs.
Fears that the baby “may have come to some harm” emerged after Ms Marten, the 35-year-old from an aristocratic family, and Mark Gordon, 48, were arrested without their child in Brighton on Monday night.
The couple have refused to reveal its whereabouts or even tell police whether it is a boy or a girl.
They were initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect, but were then arrested yesterday afternoon on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
The couple disappeared on Jan 5 after their abandoned car was discovered on fire on the M61 near Bolton.
They evaded detection for nearly two months after travelling to Liverpool, Colchester, London and Sussex.
DSI Lewis Basford, who is leading the investigation for the Metropolitan
Police, told a press conference that hopes of finding the infant alive were dwindling with the passing of each hour.
“We are considering the possibility that the baby has come to some harm. The interview process is continuing,” he said. “While we still have hope that the baby can be found safe and well, as time progresses in terms of the cold, the risk is getting higher.”
He added: “We have to be open to the fact this may not end in the way we would like.”
DSI Basford said it was clear after their arrest the couple had been “living a significant amount of time outdoors in the countryside” despite sub-zero temperatures.
Ms Marten’s father, Napier Marten, spoke of his “immense relief ” that she had been found, telling The Independent website he remained “alarmed” the baby was still missing.
His daughter and Gordon were spotted by a member of the public withdrawing cash and buying crisps and soft drinks at a city convenience store.
They were seen making their way back to the Sussex Downs where they are believed to have been sleeping in a tent, on a golf course or on allotments.
One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, saw and recorded a couple she believes were Marten and Gordon on her security CCTV, apparently arguing as they walked back towards the Downs. “They walked past my house talking quite loudly,” the 42-year-old woman said. “They were carrying bags of shopping. There wasn’t a baby with them.
“The man was carrying a long stick, the kind you’d pick up in the woods.”
Officers from Sussex Police took just six minutes to arrest the pair on suspi- cion of child neglect after they received a call at around 9.30pm on Monday.
An onlooker said Ms Marten shouted at the arresting police officers to “get off ” Gordon because “he’s got mental health issues”.
DSI Basford said officers were exploring a number of hypotheses about where the baby may be.
He said that although they have no intelligence to suggest someone else is caring for the child, a £10,000 reward had been offered in case the couple had found a “like-minded” person who “may have been offered cash for safe lodging” for the baby.
He added: “Police have used drones, the force helicopter, sniffer dogs and heat-seeking equipment to try to trace the baby or any encampment its parents have set up. Local people have been asked to search sheds, garages or outhouses in case their property had been used by the pair.”
Meanwhile, anyone who may have seen the couple between Newhaven, where the baby was last seen alive, and Brighton are being urged to contact police.