14 things inside same Lidl bag as Constance Marten's baby - including beer can
Inside the same red Lidl bag where police discovered the body of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s daughter, they also found rubbish, a used beer can, a sandwich package, and more.
Marten, 36, and Gordon, 49, spent almost eight weeks on the run from police after their car was found abandoned and on fire on the motorway outside Bolton, on January 5 last year. It wasn’t until February 27 that the couple were arrested in Brighton, having lived off the grid for weeks with their baby Victoria.
However, when arrested, their child was no longer with them - raising fears for the child’s safety. On March 1, in an allotment in Brighton, officers discovered little Victoria’s body in a red Lidl bag, stashed in a shed.
The shopping bag was found inside the shed with a tent, out-of-date milk and bread on a makeshift table. Rubbish, beer cans, leaves, and more were found with the little girl's body.
Pc Allen Ralph, sent from Scotland Yard to help with the search, told jurors he recognised the distinctive shopping bag from previous CCTV of the couple. The first thing he noticed was the smell, he said: "I remember saying ‘either something is dead in there or something has died’.”
Nicola Bulley's children 'cried their eyes out' after being told 'mummy's lost'
The coke can found inside the same bag the baby was dumped (police Handout)Along with the baby’s body, when police searched the bag they also found:
- two baby nappies
- a pink baby blanket
- cardboard
- leaves
- general rubbish
- a black blanket
- a can of Budweiser beer
- two coke cans
- two Hollingbury Golf Club scorecards
- a glass water bottle refilled with petrol purchased at a Texaco garage on January 12 2023
- two torn Argos carrier bags
- one WH Smith bag
- several pages of The Sun newspaper dated January 12 2023
- an egg mayonnaise and cress sandwich package
A bottle of petrol found in the Lidl bag - Marten was seen filling it up at a Texaco (police Handout)It was alleged that some of the items were bought by Marten at a Texaco garage in Newhaven last January 12. On being told a baby had been found dead, Marten confirmed the child was hers before starting to cry.
The black blanket found inside the shopping bag (police Handout)After recognising the bag, Pc Allen told jurors: "I lifted it and it was heavy and there was no reason for it to be heavy from what I could see inside. I remember quite clearly there was just a lot of rubbish." He said he put on gloves before putting the bag on the decking outside to examine its contents.
As they searched, his colleagues said that they had seen what looked like the head of a doll, the court heard. Pc Ralph said: "The head was to the left. It was concave, the top of the head. That was what we touched. I unwrapped it two or three times before I got to a part where I could see red pooling.
One of the discarded plastic bags that was found in the same Lidl bag as Victoria (police Handout)"A couple of seconds after, we went to the right-hand side. I put my hand down. My hand slipped on something. I looked and that was the baby’s leg. My hand was soaking wet." Pc Ralph said the baby was “very pale” and “very cold” to the touch. The full inventory of the Lidl bag was read out in court.
In a police interview played in court, Marten said she gave birth in Cumbria on Christmas Eve and the baby had died in the Harwich area around January 8. She said: "I had her in my jacket and I hadn’t slept properly in quite a few days and erm, I fell asleep holding her sitting up and she, when I woke up, she wasn’t alive.
Aristocrat Constance Marten gave birth on Christmas Eve and the baby, the court heard, died on January 8 (PA)
After being arrested Mark Gordon refused to say where Victoria was an instead complained (PA)Heartbreaking footage, taken from Pc Ralph’s bodycam, shows the moment police search through the bag and find little Victoria’s remains. The court has previously heard that the aristocrat and her partner had already had four children taken into care.
But after Marten and Gordon were caught, they refused to tell police where Victoria was - instead he complained about being in pain and being treated poorly as the aristocrat refused to say anything. Prosecutor Joel Smith told the court: "The police still did not know where the child was, whether the child was alive or dead or even the sex of the child.”
At Brighton police station, Marten told officers: “I’m sorry I haven’t eaten or slept for a long time. I need to get some sleep before I can make a proper decision.” She went on to answer “no comment” to all questions she was asked before the baby was found.
Inside the disused shed where Victoria was found in a red Lidl bag (police Handout)Following his arrival at Worthing police station, Gordon was invited to tell his “side of the story”. But instead he got out of a wheelchair and laid on the floor, claiming his legs were hurting.
Mum appeared 'completely normal' moments before vanishing while walking dog
Gordon would go on to complain he was receiving "sub-par treatment" and that he was being spoken to "like I'm a nobody". As his daughter remained missing, and was dead, he continued: "I mean I’m a suspect. I have not committed any crimes, therefore I should have respect. I’m entitled to respect ... I’m in custody but that doesn’t mean I’m a dog.”
Gordon asked for pills and claimed he was in “distress” before continuing: “I am the detainee. You can’t just take my rights around me … lock me up and say 'ah we don’t care about your feet, you’re fine, just go ahead and get interviewed'. I feel like I’m scum. I feel like I’m a scumbag, actually. I feel like I’m a piece of s***. I feel like that’s how I’ve been treated."
Days after arresting the couple, police found the baby's body in a Brighton allotment (police Handout)On being told by an officer that the “main concerns” were for the baby, Gordon instead continued to complain of his own pain.
An officer said: “I want to ask one question.” Gordon replied: “What?” The officer asked: “What was the baby’s name?” Gordon looked at his solicitor and then refused to say. Following the discovery of the baby girl, Gordon continued to say “no comment” to all questions, the court heard.
The defendants, of no fixed address, deny manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty, and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The shopping bag the young baby's body was discovered in (police Handout)The Old Bailey trial continues.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
