Charred scraps of newborn baby’s clothes worn days before she was ‘killed by mum Constance Marten & dad’ revealed
PHOTOS of charred scraps of newborn clothing have been shown in court after a newborn was killed by her on-the-run mum and dad.
Baby Victoria died after she was taken across the country by Constance Marten, 36, and her partner Mark Gordon, 49, it is said.
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The pair concealed the birth in 2022 then went “off-grid” – living in a “thin and flimsy” tent in the middle of winter, jurors heard.
Victoria, who spent “much of her life” in a Lidl bag for life, was later discovered dead inside an abandoned shed like she was “refuse”.
Today the jury of Marten and Gordon’s manslaughter trial were shown distressing photos of the child’s burnt clothing for the first time.
The upsetting snaps show the destroyed baby clothes found near the couple’s burnt-out car.
Other abandoned items near the Peugeot on the M61 included a bible, a bag of more than 30 mobile phones, five used nappies and a cat in a cat box.
The defendants spent hundreds of pounds on taxis taking them from the North West to Essex, London and the south coast, jurors have heard.
On February 19, Pauline Mason and her husband went to Stanmer Park in Brighton for some “fresh air”.
Mrs Mason was in a mobility scooter and her husband was walking when she saw a tent near Stoney Mere Way.
She told jurors: “I noticed a tent, the tent was royal blue, it was not very big. I just thought it might be a hiker.
“My husband had walked ahead of me and I shouted to him, ‘Come over, what’s that tent doing there?’
“He said, ‘Dunno, someone is sleeping out on a cold night’. I was taken aback by it then continued on my scooter.”
Further on, she noticed a “mum with baby”, Mrs Mason said.
Prosecutor Tom Little KC asked: “What did you notice, if anything, about the baby?”
Mrs Mason said: “The mother was focused on the baby, her eyes were totally focused on that baby and my eyes went from her to the baby.
“The baby was in a sling. She was holding her around the baby’s head to steady it.”
The child was very pale, did not make any sound and her head was “wobbling”, “floppy” and “unsteady”, the witness said.
She was “very surprised” to see the child had no hat, socks or booties on and was only wearing a cardigan and leggings.
Mrs Mason said the woman looked tired and she felt sorry for her.
A few steps behind was Gordon, she said, adding: “He looked at me and acknowledged that I had looked at the baby and gave me a smile.”
Mr Little said: “At that point in time, as you had seen the baby for six to eight seconds, you then continued on your fresh air turn around Stanmer Park. Did you think the baby was alive?”
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Mrs Mason replied: “I kept thinking and thinking about that baby. I thought that the colour, it did not go.”
“There was no colour and that baby was white. I do think that baby had died. It was dead.”
Asked if anything else caused her to think that, she said: “It was inappropriately dressed. There was no blanket, no hat, no socks, thin cardigan.”
Mrs Mason said she continued up the path but looked back towards the couple because she “could not believe” what she had seen.
Cross-examining for Gordon, John Femi-Ola KC asked if she could have been mistaken about seeing him.
She replied: “Yes, I might have been but I believe that they connected and as soon as I saw her and him behind her I knew they were together.”
On seeing the baby, she said: “I was quite shocked when I saw it. I did not want to believe it.
“I did not want to know it was dead.”
On February 27, Marten and Gordon were arrested in East Sussex.
Days later, Victoria’s body was found in a Lidl supermarket bag covered in rubbish in a disused shed.
Previously, jurors viewed CCTV of Victoria alive and moving around with the defendants in East Ham, east London, on January 7 last year.
The couple moved on to Whitechapel, where Gordon had bought a two-person tent and camping bedding, including a children’s unicorn sleeping bag, in Argos, the court was told.
The couple allegedly abandoned a buggy and were carrying Argos bags and a Lidl bag when they got into a black cab shortly after midnight on January 8.
Timeline of baby ‘killing’ – how couple evaded cops
CONSTANCE Marten and Mark Gordon allegedly sparked a 54-day manhunt across the UK after vanishing with their baby Victoria.
Here’s how the pair’s journey began…
December 20, 2022
Marten and Gordon booked into a holiday cottage in Northumberland, with the rental due to end on Boxing Day. The owner told jurors he found the property in “something of a state” on December 28.
December 24, 2022
The couple claim their baby daughter was born this day but this has been disputed by prosecutors.
December 28, 2022
Their Suzuki broke down on the M18 motorway so a recovery driver took them to a nearby Sainsbury’s. There was allegedly no sign of the baby but the back and side windows of the car had been blocked by clothing.
January 4, 2023
Marten and Gordon checked into the Ibis hotel at the Lymm Services in Cheshire then later the AC Hotel in Manchester.
January 5, 2023
The couple’s Peugeot 206 catches fire on the M61 motorway in Greater Manchester. Police launch an urgent probe after finding placenta, burner phones and Marten’s passport, jurors were told.
She and Gordon are taken to a Morrisons store in Bolton by a member of the public before being seen on CCTV at the nearby Bolton Interchange station.
The couple allegedly use Marten’s trust for a taxi to Liverpool, then a £400 cab to Harwich in Essex.
Cab driver Ali Yaryar, who picked the couple up from Liverpool, told the court: “I think the baby had no clothes”.
January 6, 2023
The couple arrive in Harwich and check into a Premier Inn at around 3am. They later move to the Fryatt Hotel, where they paid in cash, it was said.
January 7, 2023
Marten and Gordon travel by taxi to Colchester then to East Ham in London. The couple allegedly buy a buggy from Argos then grab another cab to Whitechapel.
They ate in a Brick Lane restaurant then dump the new buggy – choosing instead to keep Victoria in a Lidl bag, jurors heard.
January 8, 2023
The couple spend £475 on a taxi from Hornsey to Newhaven in East Sussex and walk to the South Downs National Park. Marten buys snacks and petrol with cash but there was no sign of the baby, it is said.
January 9, 2023
Both Marten and Gordon claim baby Victoria died on this day – making her 16 days old, the court was told. It is said there is no way of knowing this for sure.
January 16, 2023
Marten and Gordon are seen setting up a tent in Stanmer Park Nature Reserve in the South Downs despite the cold weather.
February 16/17, 2023
The couple are spotted near Hollingbury Golf Course in rural Sussex allegedly pushing a buggy with no baby. Their tent is later seen in Coldean Lane in Brighton
A driver sees the pair walking towards Stanmer Park with something under Marten’s puffer jacket, the court heard.
February 19, 2023
Gordon and Marten are allegedly seen in their tent in the park with a very young baby with a “wobbly” head. Jurors told the baby had no socks, blanket or hat on.
February 27, 2023
The couple are arrested in Hollingbury Place in Brighton but do not reveal Victoria’s location at first, it is said.
March 1, 2023
Tragic Victoria is found dead in a Lidl bag covered in rubbish inside a disused shed “like refuse”, the court is told.
The couple were captured on CCTV heading towards the South Downs at around 6.30am and were not spotted again until they were seen at a Texaco garage four days later, on January 12.
The defendants, of no fixed address, deny manslaughter by gross negligence between January 4 and February 27 last year.
They are also charged with perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The Old Bailey trial continues.
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