Runaway aristocrat Constance Marten's defence begins as jury told there is 'no obligation' for a women to register pregnancy
6 March 2024, 20:52 | Updated: 7 March 2024, 08:26
The defence in the trial of runaway wealthy aristocrat mother Constance Marten has begun at the Old Bailey today, as the jury was told there is 'no obligation' for a mother to register her pregnancy with the NHS.
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Marten, 36, and her partner Mark Gordon, 49, are accused of the death of their newborn daughter Victoria while living off-grid in a tent on the South Downs in wintry conditions.
A manhunt for both Marten and Gordon was launched in January last year after a placenta was found in the couple's burnt-out car on a motorway roadside near Bolton, Greater Manchester.
Following a desperate search, the two were eventually taken into custody almost two months later at the end of February.
But Victoria did not survive and her decomposed body was found in a Lidl bag in an allotment shed in Brighton, East Sussex.
The cause of the newborn's death is "unascertained", but jurors have today been told that she may have died from the cold or co-sleeping.
Speaking as a defence witness in the Old Baily on Wednesday, Dr Ehsan Rafiq told the jury pregnant women were not legally obliged to receive antenatal care and some people, such as members of the travelling community, did not routinely access the service.
He also noted that many women are opting for "natural births" over Covid infection fears amid a general trend towards less authoritative parenting styles.
Dr Rafiq said it would be "entirely up to the mother" whether or not to have medical intervention on giving birth if there were no concerns for her health.
Quizzed about the practice of "hypnobirthing", Dr Rafiq said it was not available on the NHS but agreed the practice was about creating a relaxed environment through a variety of techniques including hypnosis.
Prosecutor Joel Smith queried the advisability of not having antenatal scans, saying: "There are very many significant problems that are relevant both to the child's health and the mother's health that can be picked up on a scan in antenatal care.
"While it remains the mother's decision, your advice is to take advantage of antenatal care?" The witness replied: "That's correct."
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Mr Smith continued: "Your advice would be not to live in a tent in winter with a newborn child because that poses obvious danger to the life of a child?". Dr Rafiq agreed.
Expert on sudden deaths in children, Dr Srinivas Annavarapu told the court that Victoria was probably born before last January 3.
It is alleged the defendants went on the run two days later because they wanted to to keep their daughter, after four other children were taken into care.
Following her arrest, Marten told police Victoria died when she fell asleep in the tent while holding her under her jacket.
The court has heard that Marten had previously been warned by social workers of the risks of falling asleep with the baby on her and that a tent would be "wholly inappropriate for a baby to live in".
The defendants, of no fixed address, deny manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The trial at the Old Bailey continues.
