Overview

• A jury at the Old Bailey has retired to consider its verdict in the retrial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon on gross negligence manslaughter charges over the death of their daughter Victoria.
• Prosecutors argue that the couple’s decision to live off-grid in a flimsy tent left the newborn exposed to hypothermia or smothering in harsh winter conditions.
• Marten has testified that she blacked out and may have accidentally smothered Victoria while co-sleeping, and Gordon has described both parents as traumatized by previous child removals.
• Victoria’s remains were found decomposed inside a rubbish-filled shopping bag in a disused shed near Brighton after the couple’s arrest in February 2023.
• The defendants deny causing or allowing Victoria’s death and were previously convicted of concealing her birth and perverting the course of justice.