Couple deny killing newborn daughter who was found dead in an allotment

An aristocrat and her partner have denied all charges after being accused of the manslaughter of their baby.

Constance Marten, 36, and Mark Gordon, 49, sparked a national manhunt in January. Ms Marten had been five months pregnant when she initially left. Their newborn, a girl named Victoria, was tragically later found deceased on an allotment in Brighton.

Today, the couple pleaded not guilty to five counts relating to daughter Victoria during a hearing at the Old Bailey. Gordon said "not guilty" in a clear, loud voice when answering the charges on the indictment, while Marten also pleaded not guilty.

They are charged with the manslaughter by gross negligence of the girl, referred to in the charges as Baby A, between January 4 and February 27. They also face charges of perverting the course of justice by concealing the body, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and allowing the death of a child.

(PA)

Both parents are charged with manslaughter, concealing a birth and perverting the course of justice in relation to the search, which spanned nearly two months. Hundreds of Metropolitan and Sussex Police officers combed 90 square miles at the beginning of March for the baby.

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Marten and Gordon were reported missing on January 5 after leaving their car on a motorway in Bolton. Prosecutor Jeremy King told the court in an earlier hearing that the baby's placenta was found in the vehicle with Marten's passport next to it.

Marten's dad and her mother, Virginie de Selliers, had made public pleas for her whereabouts through the media while police offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the couple being found. It came amid weeks of sightings of the couple on CCTV. Police found remains at an allotment in the Hollingbury area of Brighton in March after a major search.

The pair appeared before Judge Mark Lucraft KC, who at one point asked the defendants to stop talking to each other while the hearing was in progress. A trial has been set for January 2, with a further pre-trial hearing listed for December 8.