Runaway aristocrat claimed her baby daughter was victim of cot death

A RUNAWAY aristocrat and her partner plotted to blame the demise of their new-born baby daughter on "cot death" after they spent weeks living rough in freezing conditions while trying to evade police, a court has heard.

- Tristan Kirk

Constance Marten, 36, and Mark Gordon, 48, disappeared in December 2022 in a bid to avoid their baby being taken into care and were seen camping on the South Downs in -2C temperatures and carrying the infant in a Lidl bag.

The baby, named Victoria, was later found dead by police in a disused shed, having been dumped in the carrier bag and hidden under a pile of rubbish.

Prosecutors claim the couple were responsible for the baby's death due to hypothermia, exposure to the cold weather, or difficulties from the family sleeping together while crammed into a "flimsy" tent. When she was arrested, Marten told police they had carried the dead baby's body around while contemplating what to do with it.

"[She] said that they had considered handing themselves in, but that she did not want to go to prison," prosecutor Tom Little KC told an Old Bailey jury.