ON THE RUN
Constance Marten seen ‘hiding crying baby in coat’ as she walks into bus station with lover before pair ‘killed’ newborn
Footage shows alleged attempts couple went to so they could conceal birth
A "SELFISH" aristocrat was seen hiding her crying baby in her coat before she and her lover killed the tragic newborn, a court heard.
Constance Marten, 36, and her partner Mark Gordon, 49, allegedly went on-the-run with baby Victoria to stop her being taken away.
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The pair concealed the birth in 2022 then went "off-grid" - living in a "thin and flimsy" tent in the middle of winter, jurors heard.
Victoria, who spent "much of her life" in a Lidl bag for life, was later discovered dead inside an abandoned shed like she was "refuse".
The Old Bailey has now been shown footage of Marten and Gordon as they embarked on their dangerous journey.
The mum appears to be hiding newborn Victoria under her puffer jacket while the pair stroll through Bolton bus interchange.
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By this point, the court heard they had abandoned their burning car on the M61 motorway with placenta inside.
The couple allegedly travelled across England - including spending £400 on a taxi from Liverpool to Essex using "wealthy" Marten's trust fund.
Marten, whose family lived at Dorset estate Crichel House, received nearly £19,000 in payments into her account from the trust while on the run.
Her father was a page to the late Queen, while her grandmother was a goddaughter to the Queen Mother.
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Despite this, jurors were told baby Victoria was being carted around by her parents in just a nappy despite the cold temperatures.
One witness who saw the couple in Harwich, Essex, confronted them after watching a news report about their disappearance.
Dog walker Dale Gosling said it was "freezing cold" at the time but little Victoria was dressed in a white onesie and wrapped inside Marten's coat.
He said the baby gave the kind of cry he "could not walk away from" and agreed she sounded "distressed".
Mr Gosling told jurors: "I said 'Excuse me, are you the people who are on the television advertised as missing with a new baby?'
"I cannot remember his exact words but he denied it.
"I offered them a lift to the hospital. He said he was doing the best for his child, he wanted to keep his family together and do the right thing and something like that."
The witness said Marten and Gordon told him they were attempting to get to London to see family or friends.
He then offered to take the couple back to his home despite thinking his wife would "do her nut" as it was the "morally correct thing to do".
The dog walker said Victoria was crying "consistently" but although Marten seemed willing to come with him, Gordon was "quite insistent he was alright".
When asked if he had "embellished" his evidence and that the baby was not crying.
He said: "I recall a child screaming to the point where I had to physically turn around and involve myself with people because the child was distressed.
"It was really traumatising to listen to."
The discovery of the burning car on the motorway sparked a huge manhunt for the pair after officers found placenta wrapped in a towel.
Other items in the car included "new baby" nappies and newborn clothing, as well as "burner phones".
A missing person's enquiry was launched, which became "bigger and bigger news" as time went on, jurors were told.
But instead of contacting police, Marten and Gordon allegedly instead tried to hide their whereabouts over fears Victoria would be taken into care like their four other children.
Timeline of baby 'killing' - how couple evaded cops
CONSTANCE Marten and Mark Gordon allegedly sparked a 54-day manhunt across the UK after vanishing with their baby Victoria.
Here's how the pair's journey began...
December 20, 2022
Marten and Gordon booked into a holiday cottage in Northumberland, with the rental due to end on Boxing Day. The owner told jurors he found the property in "something of a state" on December 28.
December 24, 2022
The couple claim their baby daughter was born this day but this has been disputed by prosecutors.
December 28, 2022
Their Suzuki broke down on the M18 motorway so a recovery driver took them to a nearby Sainsbury's. There was allegedly no sign of the baby but the back and side windows of the car had been blocked by clothing.
January 4, 2023
Marten and Gordon checked into the Ibis hotel at the Lymm Services in Cheshire then later the AC Hotel in Manchester.
January 5, 2023
The couple's Peugeot 206 catches fire on the M61 motorway in Greater Manchester. Police launch an urgent probe after finding placenta, burner phones and Marten's passport, jurors were told.
She and Gordon are taken to a Morrisons store in Bolton by a member of the public before being seen on CCTV at the nearby Bolton Interchange station.
The couple allegedly use Marten's trust for a taxi to Liverpool, then a £400 cab to Harwich in Essex.
Cab driver Ali Yaryar, who picked the couple up from Liverpool, told the court: "I think the baby had no clothes".
January 6, 2023
The couple arrive in Harwich and check into a Premier Inn at around 3am. They later move to the Fryatt Hotel, where they paid in cash, it was said.
January 7, 2023
Marten and Gordon travel by taxi to Colchester then to East Ham in London. The couple allegedly buy a buggy from Argos then grab another cab to Whitechapel.
They ate in a Brick Lane restaurant then dump the new buggy - choosing instead to keep Victoria in a Lidl bag, jurors heard.
January 8, 2023
The couple spend £475 on a taxi from Hornsey to Newhaven in East Sussex and walk to the South Downs National Park. Marten buys snacks and petrol with cash but there was no sign of the baby, it is said.
January 9, 2023
Both Marten and Gordon claim baby Victoria died on this day - making her 16 days old, the court was told. It is said there is no way of knowing this for sure.
January 16, 2023
Marten and Gordon are seen setting up a tent in Stanmer Park Nature Reserve in the South Downs despite the cold weather.
February 16/17, 2023
The couple are spotted near Hollingbury Golf Course in rural Sussex allegedly pushing a buggy with no baby. Their tent is later seen in Coldean Lane in Brighton
A driver sees the pair walking towards Stanmer Park with something under Marten's puffer jacket, the court heard.
February 19, 2023
Gordon and Marten are allegedly seen in their tent in the park with a very young baby with a "wobbly" head. Jurors told the baby had no socks, blanket or hat on.
February 27, 2023
The couple are arrested in Hollingbury Place in Brighton but do not reveal Victoria's location at first, it is said.
March 1, 2023
Tragic Victoria is found dead in a Lidl bag covered in rubbish inside a disused shed "like refuse", the court is told.
They are also accused of choosing to "deprive the baby of what she needed" - including "warmth, shelter and food and ultimately safety".
In the middle of a "cold winter and in cruel and obviously dangerous weather conditions", the pair "essentially went off-grid".
Jurors heard they lived in a tent with barely any clothes and no means of keeping warm and dry.
With "scarcely" any food, Marten and Gordon remained on the run, failed to seek medical assistance or even register the birth as they moved from "location to the location", it was said.
Prosecutor Tom Little KC said the case involved "the entirely avoidable death of a young baby".
Marten and Gordon deny manslaughter by gross negligence, concealment of the birth of a child, cruelty to a person under 16 and perverting the course of justice.
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They also deny causing or allowing the death of a child, an alternative charge to manslaughter, between 4 January and 27 February last year.
The trial continues.
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