Constance Marten tells court family set private detectives on her
Constance Marten has claimed that she was followed by private detectives in a row over her grandmother’s will.
The wealthy aristocrat, 36, is accused of going on the run with her partner, Mark Gordon and their newborn baby Victoria in the depths of last winter, allegedly resulting in the child’s death.
Giving evidence at her manslaughter trial at the Old Bailey, Miss Marten told how she was previously “trying to flee my family” after the birth of her first child in 2017 when she discovered she was being “trailed by private detectives” in a family finances dispute.
After the birth of her fourth child Victoria, Miss Marten’s car was found with 34 “burner phones” inside. Miss Marten said this was because she and Mr Gordon believed that their mobiles and emails were being “hacked”.
She earlier told jurors that she “did nothing but show love” to Victoria.
The couple are accused of manslaughter by gross negligence, concealing the birth of a child, cruelty to a person under 16, causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting the course of justice. They deny all the charges.
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05:44 PM GMT
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05:15 PM GMT
Marten says she considered taking her life
Constance Marten’s defence counsel Francis FitzGibbon KC then asked her what the couple’s plans had been with the body of baby Victoria.
She said at one point she considered cremating the remains, and even thought about ending her own life at the same time.
She explained: “Mark said ‘why don’t we jump in with her, call it quits? Let’s just all have a fire and say goodbye to life together. We had just had enough at that point.”
As she continued to give evidence her own mother, who was in court, sobbed quietly.
04:48 PM GMT
Constance Marten: “When I woke up...she wasn’t alive’
Moving to the time when baby Victoria died, Miss Marten said it had happened on the night of January 8 while they were all asleep.
She said: “I had her in my jacket and when I woke up...she wasn’t alive. I believe it was January 9.”
She said prior to that she had been happy and well and had been feeding every three or four hours.
Asked what happened next, Miss Marten explained: “I took her out of my jacket. I believe I woke Mark up and said something is wrong. He did not believe me so we tried to resuscitate her.
“She wasn’t alive but we just didn’t want to accept the fact she was not alive. You do not want to accept when someone has passed away, it was harrowing, it’s too much to take in.”
She said she and Mr Gordon were not thinking straight at that point and were in “shock and despair”.
04:00 PM GMT
Marten says living in tent did not pose ‘any danger’ to baby
Miss Marten was next asked about the couple’s arrival in Newhaven in East Sussex.
Explaining why the couple had chosen that area, she said: “We wanted to be near a port so we had two plans in our mind. The first was to get a cottage that we could pay for with cash with no electrical tracing and also to be near a port so that someone could smuggle us abroad. Our plan was only to be in the tent for a day or two maximum.”
She denied that it was ever uncomfortably cold or wet inside the tent.
Asked by Mr FitzGibbon if she thought a tent was an appropriate place for a baby, she replied: “Obviously it would be preferable to be in a house, that is just common sense, but at no point did I think she was in any danger.
“She was our pride and joy, the whole reason for us being in the tent was for Victoria, she was always well cared for.”
03:22 PM GMT
‘Let’s get a tent and lay low away from prying eyes’
The jury was told that the couple ended up in East Ham in London where they bought a buggy and some other baby items.
Miss Marten explained: “We wanted to get a flat in East Ham but we realised that wasn’t going to happen.”
She went on: “The problem with a flat if someone banged on the door there would be nowhere to run with Victoria. We realised our options were slowly diminishing so that is when we thought ‘let’s get a tent and lay low away from prying eyes’.”
Asked about baby Victoria’s welfare as they were moving around, Miss Marten replied: “That was our primary concern.”
Asked how they ensured she was well cared for, she answered: “As we always protected her, through parental care, love, warmth, food.”
02:59 PM GMT
Constance Marten denies carrying baby in carrier bag
Mr FitzGibbon asked Miss Marten how she had been transporting her daughter as they moved around the country.
He said: “Was there a time before Victoria died that she was being carried in a carrier bag?”
She replied: “No.”
The prosecution had previously claimed that the baby spent much of her short life being carried around in a Lidl Bag for Life.
Miss Marten also insisted that throughout their movements around the country her daughter remained in good health and was feeding normally.
Asked about her own health and state of mind, she said: “I had not slept very much in hotels and I was in a heightened state of panic so I was probably quite tired but I was happy to be with one of my children.”
02:41 PM GMT
‘We were trying to get to a seaport as quickly as possible’
Resuming after the lunch break, Mr FitzGibbon continued taking Miss Marten through her movements in the days following Victoria’s birth.
The court heard that after their car caught fire on Jan 5, the couple got a lift to Bolton and then a taxi to Liverpool.
Asked why they had chosen Liverpool, Miss Marten replied: “I think we were trying to get to a seaport as quickly as possible.”
But after arriving in Liverpool they then took another taxi to Harwich in Essex.
Miss Marten explained: “We wanted to be by a seaport. I wanted to get abroad as quickly as possible with Victoria. Harwich was the place that I had in my mind.”
But while they were in Harwich they discovered that they were the subject of a media appeal when a member of the public approached them and asked them if they were the people he had seen on the television.
Miss Marten said they then decided to try to get a flat in London for a while in order to “lie low for a while”.
01:48 PM GMT
‘Questionable’ car breakdown days after baby’s birth
The jury heard details of how the couple’s Suzuki car had broken down on Dec 28.
Miss Marten said the car had broken down in “questionable circumstances”.
The breakdown driver who had picked the couple up had previously told the court that he had not seen or heard a baby.
But Miss Marten insisted Victoria had been under her coat throughout the journey. They later checked into a hotel and Mr FitzGibbon asked her how she had been feeling at the time.
She said: “I was in a state of high anxiety. I was fearful that someone was going to bash down the door and take her away.”
The case has now broken for lunch.
01:44 PM GMT
Marten ‘wanted to bury’ placenta
Miss Marten was also asked about a car fire that took place on the M61 motorway on Jan 5, in which many of the couple’s possessions were destroyed.
She told jurors: “It all happened so quickly. Our plans disintegrated after the car fire, we acted on impulse and instinct.”
The court heard how the couple had left the scene before the fire brigade arrived because they were worried the police would alert the authorities and baby Victoria would be removed.
Miss Marten was also asked by her defence counsel Mr FitzGibbon why she had taken the placenta away with her after the birth.
She said: “I did not know what to do with it to be honest, it is not something you can dispose of easily. I wanted to bury it and plant something there but having Victoria and moving around so much we did not get round to it really.”
01:42 PM GMT
34 burner phones found in couple’s car
Miss Marten explained that the couple had moved around every few days in order to avoid being pursued by private investigators that she believed had been hired by her family.
Asked why it was the case that when her car was recovered there were 34 “burner phones” inside, she said it was because she and Mr Gordon believed that their mobiles and emails were being “hacked”.
She said they had used cash to pay for things when they were moving around in order to avoid being traced.
01:37 PM GMT
Marten describes birth of baby
The court was told that on Dec 20 2022, the couple had booked a holiday cottage in Northumberland and Miss Marten said Victoria was born there late on Christmas Eve.
She explained that the couple had taken various items with them to assist them with the birth, including a tens machine and sheets and blankets.
She said they also had a paddling pool, but had not used it.
Miss Marten said she had already given birth at home once and was confident she could do so again without any problems.
“If I felt there were any issues then I would have gone to hospital,” she explained.
01:02 PM GMT
Trying to avoid social services
Miss Marten said in the run up to Victoria’s birth she and Mr Gordon had been moving around regularly in order to avoid social services.
Asked why they were trying to avoid the authorities, she replied: “So that she would not be taken.”
When her defence counsel Francis FitzGibbon KC asked why she feared her baby would be taken from her, she said: “Because my four other kids had been taken.”
12:48 PM GMT
Not fair that any child should be split from parents, says Marten
Resuming evidence after a short break, Miss Marten said that even though her other four children had been taken into care or adopted she still wanted to have a family with Mark Gordon.
She said initially the plan had been to go abroad, but following a legal dispute with a member of her family, Mr Gordon’s passport was not available so they were unable to travel.
Asked what their plan was, Miss Marten said: “We were in two minds. I wanted Victoria with me for the first six months of her life so that I could give her the love that she needs because I do not think it is fair that any child be apart from their parents.”
She explained that their plan was to then find a carer who could look after the child before bringing her abroad to meet them.
12:27 PM GMT
Marten: ‘I love my kids more than anything in the world’
Miss Marten told the court that when her first child had been born she had been receiving around £50 a week from a family trust.
But she said she had written a “stern email” to the trustees, saying they had a “duty of care”.
She said after that, the payments had been increased to around £1,700 a month and later to £2,000.
But she went on: “I have three brothers who have all had houses bought for them. They get a lot more. I am treated very differently.”
The court heard that all four of her children had been taken into care.
Mr FitzGibbon asked her if she had harmed any of her children.
She replied: “Absolutely not, that’s the sad thing, Mark and I love my kids more than anything in the world. There is literally nothing I wouldn’t do for my children.”
12:25 PM GMT
Court sketch: Constance Marten in the witness box
12:15 PM GMT
Marten says she ‘bet with the devil’ by asking for social services’ help
The court was told that prior to her giving birth, Constance Marten had been living in a tent.
But asked by her defence counsel Francis FitzGibbon KC if she had intended to live in the tent after the birth, she replied: “Absolutely not.”
She said she had asked social services for help but said she regretted doing so.
“I feel like I made a bet with the devil because I asked for social services help and I think that was the worst decision because from my perspective, having gone through social services I do not believe they are there to support parents or children,” she said.
12:09 PM GMT
Marten gave false name to hospital, court told
Miss Marten described how she had been in receipt of a regular income but that had stopped before she gave birth.
“I was eight and a half months pregnant and they cut me off overnight,” she said.
The court was told Miss Marten had given a false name to the hospital when she gave birth.
Asked why she had done that, she admitted it had been “naive” but said she thought it was the only way to avoid her family.
“I would do anything to protect my child,” she said.
11:59 AM GMT
Constance Marten says she was ‘trailed by private detectives’
Moving onto the birth of her first child in 2017 in Wales, Miss Marten was asked why she was in that part of the country at the time.
She replied: “I was trying to flee my family, I have spoken about a traumatic event involving one of my family members.”
She told the jury that there had been a dispute about her grandmother’s will and around that time she discovered she was being “trailed by private detectives”.
“I did not think it was fair for my child to live under those conditions,” she said.
“I wanted to bring up my oldest child in a happy home without the constant surveillance of my family.”
11:57 AM GMT
Constance Marten felt ‘guilty’ when baby died
Constance Marten told jurors that she did not expose her baby to the cold or allow her to get too hot so far as she was aware.
Her defence counsel Francis FitzGibbon KC said: “So far as you are concerned, did you give her anything less than the proper care you thought she deserved?”
Marten replied: “I gave her the best that any mother would, yeah.”
She told jurors Victoria died last Jan 9, saying: “I do not think it is anything I will ever move on from.”
She said she felt “guilty”, adding: “I think initially it was disbelief, shock, intense grief.”
11:51 AM GMT
Constance Marten tells of ‘long history of issues’
Mr FitzGibbon asked Miss Marten if she had had an unconventional way of life.
She replied: “I wanted a conventional life but I have great difficulty with my wider family so it is not a choice, I would prefer to have a conventional way of life.”
Miss Marten said she had not introduced Mr Gordon to her family. She had cut them out of her life around two years before the couple had met.
“We have had a long history of issues,” she told the court. “When I met him I made the decision that I would have nothing more to do with them.”
Her mother Virginie de Selliers was in court as her daughter gave evidence.
11:44 AM GMT
Marten married Mark Gordon in Peru
Miss Marten told the jury that she had met Mark Gordon in around 2014 in a shop in London and had begun chatting.
“We were good friends at the start and then we went travelling together,” she said.
Miss Marten told the jury she and Mr Gordon had gone travelling together to Peru in around 2016.
“We got married over there but it is not recognised over here. It is a Peru wedding ceremony that is not legally binding,” she explained.
11:35 AM GMT
‘Travelling is my passion,’ says Marten
Miss Marten explained that she had been in receipt of a private income, but she said it was a “discretionary fund” that she could not access as she pleased.
“I am not allowed to just access it. They will give me money if it is potentially for work or for a house, they wouldn’t just give me money,” she explained.
She said after university she had worked as a researcher for the Al Jazeera news channel and had also worked as a nanny and as a photographer.
Miss Marten also said she had been “very blessed” to travel extensively, visiting India, Nepal, Uganda and South America.
“Travelling is my passion,” she said.
11:34 AM GMT
Upbringing in wealthy family
Miss Marten told the jury she had grown up in a wealthy family and had benefited from a private education.
She explained that she went on to Leeds university where she studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies.
While there she received a fixed penalty notice for shoplifting a t-shirt.
Miss Marten said it was a “silly prank” but other than that she had had no previous convictions.
11:27 AM GMT
Live updates
We are bringing you live updates from Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s manslaughter trial at the Old Bailey.
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11:23 AM GMT
‘I did nothing but show her love,’ says Constance Marten
Constance Marten began answering questions from her defence counsel, Francis FitzGibbon KC, about the death of her child.
He asked: “Did you do anything to harm Baby Victoria?”
She replied: “No”
He went on: “Did you anything cruel to her?”
She replied: “No I did nothing but show her love.”
Miss Marten told the court that she had not allowed her to get too cold or too hot and told the jury she believed her daughter had died around Jan 9 2023.
