Runaway aristocrat Constance Marten and lover Mark Gordon plead not guilty to baby daughter's manslaughter
26 October 2023, 14:54 | Updated: 26 October 2023, 15:08
A runaway aristocrat and her lover have denied killing their baby daughter during a 54-day police search.
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Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, were charged with manslaughter after Victoria was discovered dead inside a shed on an allotment.
The couple appeared at the Old Bailey where they denied gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Marten, of no fixed address, appeared wearing a white blouse. A dock officer separated her from Gordon, who was wearing a grey prison-issue tracksuit and green hat.
They also pleaded not guilty to two further charges of child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.
When asked to enter her plea, Marten replied: "Absolutely not guilty".
The pair had earlier smiled and chatted to each in the dock ahead of the hearing today.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place between January 4 and February 27.
The child’s remains were found in a plastic bag in a locked shed at an overgrown allotment in the Hollingbury area of Brighton on March 1.
The discovery came after Marten and Gordon were arrested in nearby Stanmer Villas, following a nationwide manhunt for the missing parents and infant.
An initial post-mortem examination was unable to establish a cause of death.A provisional trial date has been scheduled for January.
