Constance Marten ‘hid pregnancy from family and lived off grid in a freezing cold tent with secret baby before tot died’
A RUNAWAY aristocrat hid her pregnancy from family then lived off-grid in a tent with her secret baby and lover before she died, a court heard.
Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, were arrested after little Victoria was found dead inside a locked shed on an allotment.
The couple sparked a frantic nationwide hunt after placenta was found in a burning car on the M61 in Bolton on January 5.
They were detained in Brighton, East Sussex, on February 27 following a tip-off with the baby's remains discovered two days later.
The Old Bailey heard today how Marten's pregnancy was "hidden" from medical professionals, family and friends.
After she had a "surreptitious" birth, the couple lived off-grid with the baby in a tent in Sussex "in the middle of winter", it was said.
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The couple allegedly only made payments in cash and booked hotels using fake names to evade police.
Baby Victoria was found wrapped in a plastic bag and covered with nappies in a shed at the overgrown allotment near where Marten and Gordon were arrested in February.
A post mortem carried out previously was unable to establish a cause of death with further tests being carried out.
The couple are charged with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
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They are facing two further charges of child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Marten, who was today denied bail, and Gordon allegedly caused the baby's death by their own "unlawful act" or failed to "take such steps as could reasonably have been expected" to protect her.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place between January 4 and February 27.
No pleas have been entered but a provisional trial is set for January 2.
