A British aristocrat and her partner have been charged in the death of their baby

The search for Constance Marten, her newborn and Mark Gordon, the child’s likely father, who has a criminal record for rape, has kept the UK on edge.

The alarm was raised on January 5, when firefighters from the Manchester area put out the flames of a burning Peugeot on the side of the motorway. The driver was not seen, but The placenta and passport of Marten, 35 and of noble heritage, were found in the back seat of the vehicle. English associated with royalty.

“Miss Marten had been in a relationship with Mr Gordon since 2015.”, the prosecution lawyer reported this Friday during the couple’s first appearance before the British judiciary. Both are charged with negligent homicide of the baby.

They were arrested earlier this week near a wooded area and an orchard in Brighton, a coastal city in southern England. They evaded the police for 53 days, hiding their faces with scarves as they walked past security cameras., and refused to cooperate with detectives handling the case. There were fears for the creature’s life, and the tragic end of the almost predicted death was confirmed on Wednesday.

wrapped in a bag

The baby’s body was discovered in the shed where the family apparently took shelter during these frosty days. He was wrapped in a plastic bag under a pile of nappies, prosecutor Jeremy King Crowley confirmed to West Sussex Magistrates. The janitor from the court assured that it was a little girl whom her mother named Victoria. More than 200 police officers have been deployed among suspicious orchards where there is almost no cultivation in the winter.

A neighbor provided a clue that led to the booth where Marten and Gordon locked their daughter, perhaps already lifeless. The three of them set off on a journey of no return seven weeks agotraveling by taxi from the West to the South East of England, escaping from Liverpool to Colchester, London and Sussex.

In the British capital, they bought sleeping bags, blankets and a tent. It is believed that they almost always paid in cash to avoid leaving any traces. this Friday night The results of the girl’s autopsy were not yet known, and it is not known when and from what she died. The date of her birth is also unknown, although the hypothesis is being considered that Marten gave birth in a vehicle shortly before embarking on the odyssey that took her daughter’s life and threatens to deprive her of her freedom and send her a new boyfriend. bars.

Both have been remanded in custody awaiting trial in a trial which will move to London’s notorious Old Bailey criminal court. Estranged from family and friends, Gordon, a 48-year-old British man, is on the sex offenders’ register. He served a 20-year prison sentence for abusing and raping a woman in Floridawhere he lived since childhood.

After serving his sentence, he was deported to Great Britain and befriended Marten, a drama student thirteen years his junior. It was the seed of estrangement between the young student and her family and friends. Her parents made separate appeals through the media and social media, reaffirming their support for the eldest of three siblings, who grew up in a villa in south-west England.

“You made decisions in your adult life that turned out to be difficult, but I respect them. I know you want to keep your precious newborn at all costs. I want to help you and my granddaughter,” Virginie de Selliers’ mother wrote in an open letter. And the father, Napier Marten, who was Elizabeth II’s page, begged him in vain to surrender to the police. Constance Marten did not ask for parole in a brief first appearance, although her attorney indicated she may apply in the near future.

The 30-year-old, like her partner, is facing three charges related to the girl’s escape and death. The prosecution charges them with manslaughter, concealment of birth and obstruction of justice. The next hearing is scheduled for the end of the month.