A judge at the Old Bailey sentenced Constance Marten and her partner, Mark Gordon, to 14 years in prison on Monday after jurors found them guilty in July of manslaughter by gross negligence, child cruelty, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice over the death of their newborn daughter, Victoria.
Prosecutors told the court the couple went on the run in January 2023 with Victoria to prevent social services from taking her into care, sparking a nationwide manhunt that involved more than 100 officers and is estimated to have cost the public about £1.2 million. The wider prosecution and associated legal processes raised the total cost to taxpayers to roughly £2.8 million, the court heard.
Police said their investigation began after a placenta was discovered in a vehicle that exploded on a Greater Manchester motorway on January 5, 2023. The discovery alerted officers to the existence of a newborn and led to an emergency care order being made on January 20 to remove Victoria from her parents’ care. Authorities believe the infant later died of hypothermia, exposure or factors related to co-sleeping while the couple were living in makeshift tents on the South Downs.
Court evidence and testimony described a prolonged flight in which the pair travelled by taxi across multiple parts of England — including Bolton, Liverpool, Harwich and east London — before camping outdoors. Detectives said the couple refused to cooperate after their arrest near Brighton following nearly two months on the run, and police devoted about 1,000 officer hours and significant resources to locating Victoria’s body in a disused shed. The prosecution said officers found the infant wrapped inside a soiled nappy within a shopping bag among discarded items.
Marten, 38, appeared in the dock wearing a black jacket and teal scarf; Gordon, 51, was dressed in a blue shirt. Judge Mark Lucraft reprimanded both defendants several times during the hearing for whispering and passing notes and warned he would remove them from court if the behaviour continued. The judge described their conduct during the prosecution as obstructive, saying the pair repeatedly delayed and misled the court.
Jurors were told that Marten, who has family ties to the British aristocracy, had four older children removed from her care earlier after a family court judge concluded they were likely to be exposed to serious physical violence between their parents. Evidence presented at trial included medical records and social services findings that had prompted the earlier care orders.
The court also heard evidence about Gordon’s criminal history in the United States. Prosecutors and defence counsel referenced convictions from the late 1980s, when Gordon was a teenager in Florida, including a rape conviction. He served a sentence there before being deported to the United Kingdom, the trial record shows. The jury heard testimony and expert reports presented by the prosecution characterising Gordon as a high risk of reoffending; defence submissions challenged some of those descriptions and argued about the potential for prejudicial publicity.
Counsel for Gordon attempted during the case to argue that pretrial publicity made a fair trial unlikely, at one point invoking comparisons to the notoriety of other high-profile defendants. The judge rejected such submissions and allowed the trial to proceed.
Members of Marten’s family provided character references in court. Her mother, Virginie De Selliers, described her daughter as "determined" and "courageous" in a written statement, and a stepfather and a long-term housekeeper also spoke to positive aspects of Marten’s nature. The sentencing hearing included descriptions by the prosecution of attempts by the couple to orchestrate conspiracy narratives about social workers and private investigators, which prosecutors said were designed to distract and mislead authorities.
The case has prompted a national child safeguarding review examining whether existing powers are sufficient to protect unborn babies when parents are judged to be a high risk to a child’s welfare. Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who led the investigation, told the court and media that current law leaves police "powerless to protect that child until a baby draws their first breath" and called for legal changes that might allow contact or protection orders to be put in place before birth.
Legal aid was also raised during the case after reports that Marten, who the prosecution said is a trust fund beneficiary, received taxpayer-funded defence representation. Defence counsel argued the defendants were subject to unfair public characterisations and that some reporting had emphasised contrasting portrayals of the pair.
Sentencing followed the conviction in July, which concluded a trial lasting around two years with evidence, cross-examination and expert reports on both parties’ conduct and histories. Both defendants will serve a minimum part of the sentence as determined by court rules before being eligible for parole review under standard procedures.
The findings and the sentencing have revived debates among policymakers, child welfare advocates and law enforcement about whether new statutory measures are needed to identify and protect unborn children at immediate risk. Officials have said the national safeguarding review will report in coming months and could recommend legislative or policy changes.
Crown prosecutors said the result reflected the jury’s assessment of the evidence. Defence representatives said they would consider whether to seek leave to appeal against conviction and sentence, subject to legal advice and the availability of grounds for appeal.