A judge at the Old Bailey sentenced Constance Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 51, to 14 years in prison on Monday after jurors found them guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of their newborn daughter, Victoria. Judge Mark Lucraft KC said both defendants had shown "no genuine expression of remorse" and that "neither of you gave much thought to the care or welfare of your baby." Gordon will serve an additional four years on extended licence after release.
The convictions followed a lengthy retrial in July. Prosecutors told the court Victoria died of hypothermia after being born in January while the couple were on the run and sleeping outdoors; the defendants maintained the child’s death was a tragic accident and disputed the hypothermia finding. The decomposed body of the infant was found in a shopping bag in an allotment shed in the Hollingbury area of Brighton in 2023, two days after police traced the couple and located them on Feb. 27, 2023.
Police launched a 53‑day manhunt after officers discovered evidence of a recent birth in a burnt‑out car near Bolton. Investigators said the couple travelled across parts of England, slept outdoors and took measures to avoid detection before being found by officers. Evidence at trial placed the birth in a tent on the South Downs in January and described the conditions the newborn would have experienced in cold outdoor settings.
During the retrial, expert witnesses were called by the prosecution to explain the physiological effects of hypothermia on a newborn and to describe how exposure to cold could have led to the child's death. The defendants told jurors the death occurred when Marten fell asleep while holding the baby; the prosecution said that the circumstances and expert evidence supported a finding of gross negligence.
Marten and Gordon were earlier convicted at a previous trial on counts that included concealing the birth of a child, perverting the course of justice by failing to report the death, and child cruelty. The judge overseeing the retrial said the pair had attempted to "sabotage" and "manipulate" proceedings, and he rebuked them during the sentencing hearing for passing notes in the dock.
There was no audible reaction from either defendant when sentence was passed. In mitigation, Marten’s barrister, Tom Godfrey, said his client felt "impalpable" sorrow and accepted that the baby had died as a result of something she did, a fact he said would weigh on her conscience for the remainder of her life. Philippa McAtasney KC, representing Gordon, said he had told her: "I regret that things happened the way they happened" and that he would "live with this for the remainder of his life."
Judge Lucraft set the custodial terms on the basis of the manslaughter conviction and noted additional licensing conditions for Gordon. The case had drawn extensive police resources and public attention because of the prolonged search and the condition in which Victoria’s body was found. Court rulings and testimony over the course of the two trials established the timeline of the birth, the manhunt and the discovery of the infant, and formed the factual basis for the convictions and the sentence handed down on Monday.