Constance Marten and partner guilty of concealing the birth of their baby girl
Runaway aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon have been found guilty of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Marten, 37, and Gordon, 49, stood trial over claims they had killed their newborn daughter Victoria before dumping her body in a disused shed.
Last week, the jury was discharged from returning verdicts on charges of manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child.
But it can now be reported that both Marten and Gordon were both found guilty by the jury of concealing the birth of Victoria and perverting the course of justice.
The CPS announced on Wednesday that it is pursuing a retrial against the couple over the charges of gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The couple went on the run from authorities in December 2022, sparking a nationwide manhunt which culminated in their arrests.
Baby Victoria was found dead in a disused shed in the Brighton area in late February 2023, with her body discovered under rubbish inside a Lidl bag-for-life.
Last week, at the end of a six-month trial, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, the Recorder of London, discharged deadlocked jurors after 72 and a half hours of deliberations.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Tom Little KC announced that a retrial would be held, with Judge Lucraft setting a provisional start date in March next year.
The defendants, of no fixed address, deny charges of manslaughter by gross negligence and causing or allowing the death of a child. They had denied concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: “The jury could not reach a verdict for both Mark Gordon and Constance Marten on other charges and the investigation team from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, alongside our partners from the Crown Prosecution Service, will now prepare for a re-trial in March 2025.
“We will not be making any further public statements until the conclusion of the re-trial.
“Our focus has always been, and remains, securing justice for baby Victoria.”
