Constance Marten and Mark Gordon trial: Jury begins deliberations over manslaughter charges
The body of baby Victoria was found in a bag in a Brighton shed in February 2023.聽Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon deny all the charges against them.
Tuesday 30 April 2024 16:38, UK
Jurors have begun their deliberations in the trial of a man and a woman over the death of their newborn baby girl.
Constance Marten, 36, and her partner Mark Gordon, 49, are accused of several charges, including manslaughter by gross negligence and causing or allowing the death of a child.
During the trial, the Old Bailey heard how the couple went on the run from authorities in early 2023 in an attempt to keep baby Victoria with them after their four older children were taken into care.
The couple were arrested in Brighton on 27 February last year, two days before Victoria's body was found inside a bag in a disused allotment shed.
The cause of the child's death could not be established.
Marten has claimed her daughter died by accident when she fell asleep holding her under her jacket the day after putting up a tent.
The prosecution suggests Victoria could have died after being exposed to cold conditions with inadequate clothes.
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The trial has been ongoing since January. The jury is now considering all the evidence in an attempt to reach a verdict.
Marten and Gordon 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.