Jurors at the Old Bailey have been shown a tent and sleeping bags identical to those used by Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon as part of their ongoing manslaughter trial over the tragic death of their baby daughter, Victoria.

The makeshift shelter was set up in the courtroom on Monday and viewed privately by the jury, as the court was cleared to allow them a closer inspection of the conditions the couple allegedly subjected their newborn to while living “off-grid” on the South Downs in early 2023.

Marten, 37, and Gordon, 50, are accused of gross negligence manslaughter, after prosecutors alleged their baby either died from hypothermia or was accidentally smothered during co-sleeping in what was described as a “flimsy” tent, in freezing conditions.

The court has previously heard that Marten and Gordon concealed the birth of their fifth child, after their four previous children were taken into care. On January 5, 2023, the couple fled authorities following a fire that engulfed their Peugeot 206 on the M61 near Bolton, abandoning their belongings.

Police launched a nationwide search after a placenta was discovered in the burned-out vehicle, suspecting the birth of a baby. The pair travelled across England by taxi and eventually settled on the South Downs, where prosecutors say the child died as they camped in cold and rainy conditions.

Taxi Driver Testimony Reveals Shocking Details

The court also heard from taxi driver Hassan Guzel, who drove the couple from Haringey, North West London, to Newhaven, East Sussex in the early hours of January 8, 2023. Guzel recalled the couple originally requested to go to Portsmouth but changed their minds mid-journey.

He told the court he grew suspicious after hearing what he initially thought was a kitten’s meow, only to realise it was the sound of a baby.

“I know the noise a baby makes and this is the noise that a baby makes when it is looking for attention,” he said.
“I told myself, ‘Why did they not tell me about this?’”

He expressed concern about their destination, dropping them off at 4:56am in a desolate area with no other cars around.

“I thought to myself, if they had a baby, what are they doing in the middle of the night here?” Guzel added.

Witness Heard Baby Crying for Two Nights

Another witness, Sarah Hidden from Seaford, East Sussex, told the jury she heard a baby crying for two nights between January 16 and 27, and spotted a couple with a tent while walking her dog. She described the cries as “high-pitched, urgent and quicker between breaths“, and was confident it was not the sound of animals.

She said the crying came from a direction with no residential properties, adding to concerns that the couple and baby were living in extreme isolation and exposure.

Baby’s Body Found in Shopping Bag

The body of baby Victoria was later discovered in a shopping bag for life, inside a disused shed near Brighton, shortly after Marten and Gordon were arrested on February 27, 2023. The prosecution alleges the couple failed to seek medical help and continued to conceal the child’s birth and death.

Both defendants, who have no fixed address, deny gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child between January 4 and February 27, 2023.

The jury was told that Marten and Gordon had previously been convicted at an earlier trial of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.

The trial continues.