A recent review into the circumstances surrounding the death of baby Victoria has raised questions about the effectiveness and potential consequences of the extensive manhunt for her parents, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon. Veteran crime reporter David James Smith, discussing the findings of the February report by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, suggested that alternative approaches might have yielded better outcomes than the high-profile pursuit.
Smith likened the police pursuit to a high-speed chase where collateral damage occurs, implying that the intense efforts to apprehend Marten and Gordon may have inadvertently driven them further underground, making the infant's death a "terrible inevitability." "The police knew they had the baby, and the more they pursued them, the more they tried to escape," Smith stated. "It felt like there was a sort of tragic, terrible inevitability to what happened, and I can't believe there wasn't a better way to have dealt with that."
Baby Victoria was discovered on March 1, 2023, concealed in a shopping bag at a disused allotment shed near Brighton. She was the couple's fifth child; their four other children had previously been removed by family courts. The report, titled "Protecting All Vulnerable Babies Better," examined systemic safeguarding failures highlighted by Victoria's death.
Victoria is believed to have died from hypothermia while the couple was living outdoors in a tent on the South Downs during winter. Marten and Gordon went on the run after Victoria's birth, reportedly fearing she would also be taken into care, a decision that initiated a nationwide manhunt after police found a placenta in the couple's abandoned car.
Systemic Failures and Trauma
The review also addressed the pattern of non-engagement with social services that characterized the family's history, a factor cited by the family court when removing their other children. Smith argued that social services may not have fully recognized the extent of trauma the couple had experienced, suggesting a more sensitive approach was needed.
"It was puzzling to everyone in that courtroom... this mystery about their relationship, and what it was about them that made them put themselves first, before their children," Smith noted. The safeguarding review focused on understanding why Marten and Gordon did not comply with authorities, frequently referencing the role of trauma. Marten had alluded to past abusive experiences, and Gordon had a history of abuse in his childhood before being sent to America, where he served a prison sentence for rape committed as a juvenile.
Gordon and Marten were each sentenced to fourteen years in prison in September 2025 for the gross negligence manslaughter of their newborn daughter. Gordon received an additional four years due to his assessed risk to the public. He had previously served 22 years in American prisons for a rape committed at age 14.
Smith concluded that finding a way to support Marten and Gordon in becoming better parents would have been the ideal solution, if it had been achievable given their circumstances and past experiences.