14th July 2025

After a lengthy trial, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon have been found guilty of killing their newborn baby.

Today (Monday 14^th July), the couple appeared at the Old Bailey, where they were found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.

During the trial, the court was told that Marten and Gordon’s four older children had all been taken into care following a number of social services interventions. Baby Victoria was their fifth child, and they lived off-grid with her in a tent during freezing weather conditions to avoid being detected by the authorities.

The pair came to the public's attention when a 53-day search for the couple started in January 2023. The search was prompted when firefighters found the couple’s car on fire after it had broken down. Inside the car were Marten’s passport, nappies and a placenta.

The couple then continued travelling to different locations around the country to evade the authorities, often carrying their newborn daughter in a bag for life, while police launched an urgent search for them.

After being found and arrested on the 27^th February 2023, Marten and Gordon were questioned by police over the whereabouts of their newborn baby, who was not with them at the time of their arrests. Both refused to provide information to the police regarding Victoria’s location.

Sadly, Victoria’s body was later found in a shed at an allotment in Sussex where the couple had been staying.

Commenting after today's verdict, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who led the search for the couple, said: "Victoria's death was completely avoidable. The couple had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing and come forward to ask for help. They knew that officers were looking for them.

"We have waited more than two years to secure justice for baby Victoria and I am pleased we have now been able to get that for her - despite her parents trying to disrupt and derail not one, but two trials.

"I would like to thank the media for the support they showed throughout the search, as well as the many members of the public who reported sightings. I'd also like to thank the jury for their patience and resilience in having to sit through a long trial where they had to listen to Marten and Gordon's horrific actions.

"This information was incredibly important, and officers travelled across the country to track down CCTV and speak to witnesses.

"Speaking personally as a father, I find it hard to comprehend how, instead of providing the warmth and care their child needed, Mark Gordon and Constance Marten chose to live outside during freezing conditions to avoid the authorities."

A sentencing date for the pair has not yet been announced.