Jailed for killing baby Victoria

Aristocrat and rapist partner get 14 years after tot died in tent

- BY KELLY-ANN KIERNAN

ARISTOCRAT Constance Marten and her rapist partner Mark Gordon have been jailed for 14 years after killing their newborn baby while on the run.

The pair were in hiding when daughter Victoria died inside a tent in winter.

Marten, 38, and 51-year-old Gordon had fled authorities to prevent the tot being taken into care, as four other siblings had been before.

They were found guilty of her manslaughter, child cruelty, concealing her birth and perverting the course of justice following two trials spanning six months each.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC accepted the prosecution case that Victoria died from hypothermia after being exposed to the cold.

But he rejected Marten and Gordon's claims Victoria was smothered in a "terrible accident" as they slept in the tent on the South Downs.

The judge said they had displayed "arrogance" and treated Victoria to "neglect of the most serious type".