It is a sensational tale that has been holding Britain in its grip today, a woman born into aristocracy and her partner have been found guilty of manslaughter after their baby was born dead in a chilling outdoor environment.
Constance Marten, 38, once a high-society heiress, and her partner, Mark Gordon, 51, were convicted of manslaughter of their baby girl, Victoria, following living on the streets in freezing conditions avoiding police.
The couple was convicted after a protracted trial over the most devastating child death case in recent years.
Marten was once a privileged child who used to rub shoulders with the royalty, a life many people can only dream.
She was raised in a very rich family in Britain, which had close connections with the royal family.
She has a father, Napier Marten, who was a page of the late Queen Elizabeth II and a grandmother Mary Anna Marten who is the goddaughter of the Queen Mother.
When she was younger, Marten even told friends that she used to play with Princes William and Harry.
Her life ended up being dark and tragic.
Marten broke ties with her aristocratic family in 2016. This world changed even more when she met Mark Gordon, a convicted sex offender.
Gordon spent 20 years in a United States prison after brutally raping a female at knifepoint when he was 14.
He was later deported to U.K. where he met Marten and they began their relationship.
The history of their love became the history of survival, crime, and, indeed, tragedy.
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The couple disappeared in early 2023 with their car found burnt on one of the motorways near Bolton, in the United Kingdom.
Police also found a placenta in the car which brought fears of the safety of their newborn baby.
This finding instigated a nationwide manhunt, which grabbed the interest of millions of people throughout the U.K.
Gordon and Marten were able to elude the police for seven weeks, traveling throughout the country and living in very impoverished and cold conditions, frequently in tents with their newborn baby.
People saw as it was reported how far the couple went to hide themselves without listening to the numerous requests of the police to surrender.
They were apprehended by the police in Brighton on February 27, 2023, the end of their flight.
Officers only found the dead body of baby Victoria in a plastic bag, dumped beside their camping site a few days later on March 1.
Later on, detectives would indicate that no one can fully state what really led to the death of Victoria. Marten informed officers that the baby had just died in her sleep but she refused to reveal additional details.
But the prosecutors said they found that the baby was subjected to very low temperatures of winter and was neglected, which caused her death.
The death of Victoria was absolutely unnecessary said Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford in a statement.
The two had more than enough time to do what is right and report to request assistance. They were aware that police were searching them out.”
It turned out that it was not the first baby of this couple. Marten and Gordon together had four more children.
Yet, they seemed to be intent on living off-the-grid and moved a lot, and were purportedly suspicious of authorities.
The prosecution tried to paint a very bleak image of a mother who had left behind the comforts and luxury of riches to end up in this dire situation.
They claimed that the actions of Marten who was led by the dark past of Gordon and the fact that they were both isolated in society and that they acted under these circumstances led to the death of their baby.
In the trial, the ghastly details of how the couple led their lives in their last days of freedom as they walked long distances in ill health seeking supplies, begging and having to keep their newborn baby under a flimsy tent in a highly cold winter were heard by the court.
The judge ruled that they acted with gross negligence and they were found guilty of manslaughter. Marten and Gordon are now sentenced to long prison terms.
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The case has elicited new discussions in Britain regarding the effects of isolation, mental health, and domestic control particularly as individuals with privileged backgrounds enter into morbid relationships and cut off avidly.
Most people are left puzzled as to how a lady who once played in the palace gardens would be in a cell in prison, having crimes of not being able to take care of her child.
It is the tale of having an upper hand, a fall into evil and a tragic death with a trail of pain, unsolved mystery and a nation that mourns over the loss of the baby Victoria.
