Constance Marten trial: 'Cruel' parents accused of killing baby and leaving body in shopping bag covered in rubbish

According to court reports, a young female infant lost her life due to the actions of her unkind guardians. The parents went off the grid, living in a tent during extremely cold and hazardous weather, which ultimately led to the child's death.

Constance Marten, who is rich, and Mark Gordon, worried that their daughter would end up in foster care because their four other kids had been removed by social services before. Constance is 36 years old and Mark is 49.

During the trial at the Old Bailey, it was revealed that Marten gave birth while the couple were on the run and did not seek any medical help before, during, or after their daughter's birth.

The accused individuals went on a trip throughout England using various vehicles such as automobiles and taxis. During their journey, they kept the newly born infant concealed under Marten's jacket for a certain period. Later on, they transferred the baby to a Lidl "bag-for-life" as a hiding place.

Without appropriate clothing, equipment, or sustenance, the baby's probability of survival greatly diminished as she and Gordon settled on the South Downs for camping.

According to prosecutor Tom Little KC, the lifeless baby was abandoned in a locked shed. The baby was left inside a shopping bag with garbage covering her, as if she was something useless.

According to reports, the death of the baby was caused by the defendants' "self-centered motivation" to keep the child, which inevitably led to the tragic outcome.

According to Mr. Little's testimony to the jury, Marten and Gordon's behavior was reckless, selfish, insensitive, cruel, overconfident, and ultimately negligent, leading to the death of the person in question. If it were not for their conduct, that individual would still be alive.

The pair are saying that they did not cause their daughter's death due to being extremely careless during the period of 4 January to 27 February the previous year.

They have also been accused of obstructing justice, hiding the fact that a child was born, mistreating a child, and being responsible for the death of a child either directly or indirectly.

The accused gave precedence to their relationship rather than prioritizing their daughter's welfare.

Starting the argument for the accusation, Mr. Little stated: "Marten and Gordon prioritized their personal bond and perspective on life over the well-being of a young girl."

They made the choice to withhold essential necessities such as comfort, protection, nourishment, and ultimately, security from the infant during a bitter winter and treacherous weather conditions.

They decided to detach from modern amenities and lived in a shelter made of cloth without sufficient clothing to keep themselves warm and dry. Moreover, they did not have any sources to sustain their warmth and did not have an adequate amount of food.

According to Mr. Little, the jury heard that their unwillingness to give up their baby girl ultimately resulted in her unfortunate demise.

They fled and stayed on the move, delivering the newborn while still on the run. They didn't look for any medical help prior to, during, or after the delivery.

Moving from place to place without registering the birth.

The culprits fled and attempted to conceal their whereabouts instead of surrendering themselves to the authorities after the death of their infant. They left the corpse of their deceased child in a shopping bag soaked in garbage, treating it as if it were waste, and placed it in an abandoned shed.

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During their flight, the accused reserved a vacation rental in Northumberland on the 20th of December 2022. The individuals then departed leaving the rented space in a condition that was described as revolting according to testimonies given by jurors.

The couple had to escape a car that caught fire while they were travelling on the M61 in Greater Manchester on January 5th of the previous year.

A towel encasing a placenta, Marten's passport, and "burner phones" - inexpensive gadgets usually utilized by felons to avoid being detected by law enforcement - were retrieved from the debris.

The authorities made an appeal a year ago and it got the attention of the national media, as mentioned in court.

The pair finally arrived in Whitechapel located in the eastern part of London. It's been claimed that Gordon bought the tent and after that, they hired a cab which cost them £475 to travel from London to Newhaven, East Sussex on 8th January.

According to Mr Little, Marten hails from a family with ample financial resources, but he chose to focus his spending on transportation rather than investing it in comfort and protection.

During his statement to the jury, he stated that the accused individual did not come from an underprivileged background. According to him, she had the opportunity to access financial resources and assistance whenever necessary. The statement raised several inquiries that the accused individual is required to address during the trial.

The court proceeding, predicted to go on until the 8th of March, carries on.