Constance Marten, 36, and boyfriend Mark Gordon, 49, are on trial at the Old Bailey over the death of their baby Victoria.

It is alleged the couple travelled across England and lived off-grid in a bid to keep their daughter after four other children were taken into care.

They became front-page news last January when Greater Manchester Police launched a missing persons inquiry after finding a placenta in the couple’s burnt-out car on a motorway near Bolton.

The pair spent hundreds of pounds on taxis taking them from the North West to Essex and on to east London, the Old Bailey has heard.

Marten and Gordon were arrested in Brighton last February and the body of baby Victoria was found in a Lidl supermarket bag covered in rubbish inside a disused shed near Stanmer Villas.

Previously, CCTV of the couple appeared to show a bulge where the baby had been bundled up beneath Marten’s coat and wrapped in a blanket or towel.

Constance Marten in East Ham with baby Victoria (Image: The Metropolitan Police)

On Tuesday, jurors were shown video footage clearly showing the dark-haired child dressed in a babygrow, with her hands and arms moving around.

Cab driver Colette Franklin, who took the defendants from Harwich to Colchester for £30, described how Gordon “slid down his seat” when a police car came towards them.

On arriving in East Ham in another cab, Gordon passed the baby out to Marten, who was standing near the door.

Baby Victoria’s fingers were seen in the footage curling and move around.

Further CCTV of Marten standing in the street showed her unzipping her jacket to reveal the baby.

She appeared to cradle the child in her arms to comfort her.

Read more: Updates as witnesses tell of seeing Constance Marten and Mark Gordon in Brighton

Jurors then viewed a clip of Gordon buying a buggy in Argos while Marten sat at a table at German Doner Kebab.

When Gordon returned, Marten put the baby down, wrapped in a red scarf.

Prosecutor Joel Smith told jurors: “You can see while Ms Marten is assembling the buggy the baby’s arms moving to her left.”

Gordon sat in the dock and covered his face with his hand as the footage was shown in court.

His defence barrister, John Femi-Ola KC, spoke briefly to him and asked for a short break as his client was finding it “quite stressful”.

Marten, who was later captured on camera buying a dummy in Boots, has not attended court for her trial.

The defendants, of no fixed address, deny manslaughter by gross negligence of the little girl between January 4 and February 27 last year.

They are also charged with perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty, and causing or allowing the death of a child. They deny all charges.

The trial continues.





Source link

[Featured]

[Just In]

Share.
Leave A Reply

© 2024 The News Times UK. Designed and Owned by The News Times UK.
Exit mobile version