Child Killers, Aristocrat Constance Marten and her convicted rapist partner Mark Gordon have been ruled guilty of murdering their newborn infant.
Constance Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 51, absconded with their daughter Victoria in early 2023 following the removal of their four other children into protective custody.
Authorities initiated a worldwide search following the ignition of their vehicle on the motorway adjacent to Bolton, Greater Manchester.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon journeyed around England and camped in a tent on the South Downs, where their infant, Victoria, passed away.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were apprehended in Brighton, East Sussex, after seven weeks of evasion.
After an urgent search, authorities discovered the infant deceased within refuse inside a Lidl bag in an abandoned shed nearby.
Victoria’s remains were excessively decayed to determine the cause of death.
The prosecution asserted that she succumbed to hypothermia due to the cold and damp circumstances within the inadequate tent or was suffocated.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon asserted that their daughter’s death was an unfortunate accident resulting from Constance Marten falling asleep on her.
On Monday, a jury in their retrial unanimously convicted Marten and Gordon of manslaughter.
In their initial trial last year, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were found guilty of obstructing justice, concealing childbirth, and child maltreatment.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford of Scotland Yard stated, “The justice we have long sought has finally been served for baby Victoria.”
The egocentric behaviours of Mark Gordon and Constance Marten culminated in the demise of a newborn infant who was entitled to a full life ahead of her.
The senior officer stated that Victoria’s death was “entirely preventable,” as the defendant had numerous chances to “act appropriately” and seek assistance.
He stated that the family court’s decision to place Constance Marten’s four further children into care was “demonstrated to be correct.”
Jurors at Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s initial trial in 2024 were not informed of Gordon’s history of violence, which was only partially disclosed during the subsequent trial.
In 1989, at the age of 14, Mark Gordon unlawfully detained a woman in Florida for over four hours and sexually assaulted her.
Mark Gordon executed the assault while equipped with a knife and hedge clippers.
Within a month, he trespassed onto another home and committed an additional act of severe battery.
Mark Gordon, who relocated with his mother from Birmingham to the United States at the age of 12, received a 40-year prison sentence and was released after 22 years.
The jurors in the retrial looked noticeably disturbed by the disclosures, despite Constance Marten inadvertently revealing Gordon’s rape conviction during his testimony.
In 2017, Mark Gordon was convicted of assaulting two female police officers at a maternity ward in Wales, where Constance Marten delivered their first child under an assumed identity.
Jurors were not informed that Mark Gordon was also implicated in a 2019 incident of domestic violence that resulted in Constance Marten sustaining a fractured spleen.
It was revealed during legal proceedings that Mark Gordon had denied paramedics access to their London residence to provide medical assistance to her, despite her being 14 weeks pregnant.
She spent eight days in the hospital and then allegedly jeopardised her life and that of her pregnant child by attempting to discharge herself, with Gordon’s assistance.
Subsequent to that occurrence, the family court determined that the couple’s other children should be placed in care.
Constance Marten concealed her fifth pregnancy, delivering the child in a rented holiday house on Christmas Eve 2022.
The efforts of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon to conceal baby Victoria triggered a significant police alert following the discovery of a placenta in their abandoned vehicle near Bolton on January 5, 2023.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon absconded with Victoria, abandoning the household cat, Sasha, in a box to die, around £2,000 in cash, 34 burner phones and various possessions.
They expended hundreds of pounds on taxis to transport them from the North West to Harwich in Essex, East Ham in London and then to Newhaven.
Victoria was briefly observed on CCTV footage in London donning the identical teddy bear pattern baby grow that was subsequently found with her remains inside the Lidl bag.
The prosecution claimed that Victoria was transported beneath Constance Marten’s jacket or within a Lidl bag, lacking sufficient clothing, warmth, or shelter.
Subsequent to her demise, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were recorded on CCTV foraging in refuse bins for sustenance, despite Marten having received substantial funds from a trust and possessing £19,000 in her bank account.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were apprehended after procuring supplies in Brighton on February 27, 2023, and declined to disclose the baby’s whereabouts, with Gordon stating, “What’s the big deal?”
Over a thousand Metropolitan Police officers conducted a search for Victoria over two days until she was found in an allotment shed, enveloped in a pink sheet and concealed amid dirt and debris within a Lidl bag.
During a police interrogation, Marten stated: “I had her in my jacket, and I had not slept adequately for several days; consequently, I fell asleep while holding her in an upright position.”
Upon awakening, I discovered that she was deceased. Jurors were informed that social workers had cautioned Constance Marten on the dangers of dozing off with an infant in her proximity and that a tent was inappropriate for such circumstances.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon provided testimony in their retrial; however, each truncated their statements, with Constance Marten characterising the prosecution as “heartless” and “diabolical.”
It is anticipated that they will get incredibly light sentences that in no way will match the 40 years Gordon got for two rapes in the USA.
UPDATE 17.09.25
Two Child Killer parents, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, have been sentenced to ONLY 14 years in jail for causing the death of their newborn infant by living in a tent under harsh winter circumstances to avoid social services, thanks to the British Justice System.
Constance Marten and convicted rapist Mark Gordon evaded authorities in late 2022; their four older children had already been placed in care due to safety concerns regarding their custody with the couple.
In July, a jury in their Old Bailey retrial unanimously convicted them of manslaughter. In their initial trial last year, the defendants were convicted of obstructing justice, concealing a child’s birth, and committing child cruelty.
During the sentencing on Monday, Judge Mark Lucraft stated, “It is evident that neither of you demonstrated any consideration for the care or affection towards your baby.”
The judge characterised their behaviour as “arrogance,” stating: “Your actions towards baby Victoria can only be classified as neglect; neglect of the most severe and serious nature.”
Neither of you has demonstrated authentic contrition.
Although he stated they had conveyed sorrow, they had “assumed the position of attributing blame to others.”
On Monday, Lucraft KC, the recorder of London, sentenced Constance Marten and Mark Gordon to 14 years in prison and imposed an additional four years of extended licence on Gordon.
During the sentence hearing, the court consistently admonished Constance Marten and Mark Gordon for their “disruptive” conduct in the dock while their attorneys presented mitigating arguments on their behalf.
He threatened to expel them from the court and to proceed with the hearing in their absence if required, characterising their conduct as “disrespectful.”
Jurors in the initial trial were not informed of Mark Gordon’s history of violence, which was partially disclosed during the subsequent trial.
Lucraft enumerated this as an exacerbating element during sentencing.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon evaded capture for seven weeks until being located by law enforcement in Brighton, East Sussex.
Authorities initiated a worldwide search following the discovery of the couple’s incinerated vehicle on a motorway near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on 5 January 2023.
The evidence indicated that the infant, Victoria, had been born just prior.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon traversed England in cabs with their newborn, ultimately arriving in the countryside near Brighton.
Following a police search, Victoria’s body was discovered among debris within a Lidl bag in an abandoned shed.
Her remains were excessively deteriorated to determine the cause of death.
The prosecution asserted that she succumbed to hypothermia due to the frigid and humid conditions under the inadequate tent, or was, more likely, asphyxiated.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon asserted that their daughter’s demise was an unfortunate accident resulting from Constance Marten falling asleep on her.
In 1989, at the age of 14, Mark Gordon unlawfully detained a woman in Florida for over four hours and sexually assaulted her while wielding a knife and hedge clippers. Within a month, he trespassed onto another home and committed an additional act of severe battery.
Mark Gordon, who relocated with his mother from Birmingham to the United States at the age of 12, received a 40-year prison sentence and was released after 22 years.
The jurors in the retrial were unsettled by the disclosures, despite Marten having disclosed Mark Gordon’s rape conviction throughout his testimony.
In 2017, Mark Gordon was found guilty of assaulting two female police officers at a maternity ward in Wales, where Marten delivered their first child using a false identity.
Jurors were informed that social workers had cautioned Marten on the dangers of dozing off with an infant in her proximity and that a tent was inappropriate for such circumstances.
Both defendants provided testimony in their retrial, but each truncated their statements before undergoing cross-examination by the prosecution.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were informed that they would serve two-thirds of their 14-year sentences in incarceration. Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were informed that they will subsequently be released to complete the remainder of their sentence on licence.
In Mark Gordon’s case, the subsequent period encompassed the additional four years imposed due to the perceived threat he represented.
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