Aristocrat Constance Marten and her boyfriend to face trial next year over baby girl's death
31 March 2023, 19:17
Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon will stand trial at the Old Bailey early next year over the death of their baby daughter.
Marten and Gordon have both been charged with the manslaughter of their baby, named Victoria, who was found dead in Brighton on March 1 after a two-day search.
Victoria's remains were found in a plastic bag in a locked shed in an overgrown allotment in Hollingbury, east Sussex, after Marten and Gordon were arrested.
An initial post-mortem examination was unable to establish the cause of the child's death and it is understood that tests are ongoing.
Police had been searching across the country for the pair's whereabouts for several weeks, with the couple eventually arrested at the end of February.
The couple were charged on March 2 with the manslaughter of baby Victoria, concealment of the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
On Friday, Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, appeared at the Old Bailey before the Common Serjeant of London, Judge Richard Marks KC.
The pair, who have no fixed address, spoke only to confirm their names and dates of birth. Judge Marks set a plea and case management hearing for August 18 with the defendants to appear by video link.
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A provisional trial at the Old Bailey before the Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, was set for January 2 2024. The case is expected to last between four and six weeks.
There was no application made for bail and the defendants were remanded into custody.
