A judge on Monday sentenced millionaire heiress Constance Marten, 38, and her partner, Mark Gordon, 51, to 14 years in prison after jurors convicted them of manslaughter by gross negligence, child cruelty, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice in the death of their newborn daughter, Victoria.
Judge Mark Lucraft told the defendants they had behaved "arrogantly" and had shown "neglect of the gravest and most serious type" when they fled with the infant and camped in a flimsy tent on the South Downs in winter, conduct that the judge said led to Victoria’s death from hypothermia.
The couple sparked a nationwide manhunt after a placenta was discovered when a car they were travelling in exploded on a Manchester motorway on Jan. 5, 2023. Police said more than 100 officers from five forces spent roughly 1,000 hours on the search, and the chase cost about £1.2 million. Prosecutors said Marten and Gordon travelled from Bolton to Liverpool, then to Harwich in Essex and east London before stopping on the South Downs, where Victoria died.
Prosecutors told the court that, a day after the baby died, the parents placed the infant in a soiled nappy inside a supermarket "bag for life" and concealed the body in a disused shed beneath discarded packaging. The couple were arrested near Brighton after nearly two months on the run and refused to cooperate, police said.
At trial, jurors convicted the pair in July after a two-year legal process. The case has, according to reports, cost taxpayers around £2.8 million in total. Gordon was ordered to serve an extra four years on an extended licence, a determination the judge made on the basis of his dangerousness.
Delivering the sentence, Judge Lucraft said: "To most right-thinking people, their children are the most precious beings, to be nurtured and cared for, to be kept warm; to be fed and above all, to be loved. What you did towards baby Victoria, despite all you claim to have done, can only be described as neglect."
Defence counsel told the court that Marten was suffering from a depressive mental disorder at the time of Victoria’s death and that she felt "incalculable" sorrow. Marten’s lawyer said she had accepted that her baby died as a result of something she did. Gordon’s barrister said he regretted making "bad decisions." Observers in court noted that Marten sighed when told she would serve two-thirds of the 14-year term, while Gordon showed no visible emotion.
The court also heard details of the defendants’ backgrounds. Marten, born into wealth and privilege, is said to be a beneficiary of family trust funds. It emerged during proceedings that she told a probation officer she expected to regain access to a £2.4 million family trust at age 40 and to be able to withdraw cash from another fund on release. Gordon has a prior conviction in the United States: as a teenager he was sentenced to 40 years in connection with a 14-year-old's conviction for a rape at knifepoint, according to court material presented during the trial.
In mitigation, Marten’s mother, Virginie de Selliers, made an emotional plea for clemency, describing her daughter as "feisty" and praising her determination in fighting for her children. A close friend of Marten’s father told the court that the family did not recognise some of the harsh descriptions of her character published in the press.
The convictions stem from events that unfolded across several months and jurisdictions and that drew significant public attention. Prosecutors argued the couple had fled because social services had previously removed their four older children and Marten feared the newborn would also be taken into care. The jury’s verdicts and the judge’s remarks emphasized the seriousness of leaving an infant exposed to cold and elements and the responsibilities parents bear for a newborn’s welfare.
Both defendants will serve their sentences under the terms set by the court, and the extended licence conditions attached to Gordon’s sentence mean he will face additional supervision after release. The judgment and surrounding details mark the conclusion of a high-profile criminal case that drew scrutiny over parental responsibility, mental health mitigation and the use of public resources in the extensive police search.