20 May 2024 , 10:18
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Jurors have returned for a sixth day of deliberations in the case of Constance Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon, who are accused of killing their newborn baby daughter.
Marten, 37, and Gordon, 49, took Victoria on the run in January last year to prevent her being taken away by social services. The couple spent weeks living a nomadic lifestyle in the height of winter, with Victoria's body later found in a shopping bag in a disused shed.
The jury involved in the case began deliberations on April 30 but were sent away on May 8 due to a juror commitment. They today returned to the Old Bailey and Judge Mark Lucraft sent them out for their sixth day of deliberation.
Previously during the trial, the jury heard how Marten and Gordon went on the run with their baby leaving their car in flames on the side of a motorway near Bolton, Greater Manchester, in January last year. Marten, who is from a wealthy aristocrat background with historical ties to the royal family, claimed Victoria died on January 9 - four days after the car fire.
She told the court Gordon told her not to tell police that Victoria died while Marten was holding her in her sleep because police would "blame" her. Marten said, in turn, she told Gordon to tell police he was not there at the time.
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The couple met in 2014 and had four children in quick succession who were all taken into care, jurors have heard. The couple deny the manslaughter of Victoria by gross negligence, concealment of the birth of a child, cruelty to a person under 16 and perverting the course of justice by disposing of the body.
The pair were both arrested in Brighton on February 27 last year, with Victoria's body found shortly after on March 1. While in custody, the pair refused to answer questions about whether the baby was alive or dead. 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 continues.