Trial date set for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon following death of two-month-old baby girl

Court artist sketch of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon with a dock officer at the Old Bailey earlier this year. Credit: Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

A trial date has been set for an aristocrat and her partner who are charged with manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of their baby daughter.

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon sparked a major search operation when they went missing with their newborn child for more than 50 days.

They were eventually found and arrested in Stanmer Villas in Brighton on 27 February.

After a two-day search, the body of two-month-old baby Victoria was discovered in a plastic bag in a locked shed at an overgrown allotment in the Hollingbury area of the city on 1 March.

An initial post-mortem examination was unable to establish the cause of the baby’s death.

Police had been attempting to establish the defendants’ whereabouts for several weeks.

Today the pair appeared at the Old Bailey (12 October), via video link, as they faced charges of concealment of the birth of a child, child cruelty, causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting the course of justice.

They did not enter a plea as they did not have representation.

The next hearing is set for Thursday 26 October where they are expected to enter a plea.

A trial of up to six weeks is set for 2 January 2024.

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