Aristocrat Constance Marten’s partner Mark Gordon dramatically stopped his evidence before facing any questions from the prosecution about the alleged manslaughter of his baby daughter.
Marten, 38, and Gordon, 50, are accused of killing their baby daughter Victoria when they went on the run from the authorities in early January 2023.
Gordon decided in April to not give evidence in his defence case, and opted to represent himself instead of having a barrister in early May.
But after Marten pulled out of her own evidence early before facing prosecution questions, Gordon went into the witness box on Wednesday to start giving evidence.
He accused the police of being responsible for the baby’s death, and said he and Marten became “deranged” and “off our heads” when they were on the run.
When Gordon returned to the witness box just after midday on Friday, he told the court: “That’s it, I’m finished with my testimony.”
Prosecutor Tom Little KC was about to start questioning him in cross-examination.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC, the Recorder of London, said he would direct the jury to give “minimal weight” to the evidence Gordon has already put forward.
Gordon then suggested he would answer some questions, but added: “If you are asking questions not about the case, I’m not answering.”
Judge Lucraft told jurors he had ruled on Thursday that the prosecution can now put forward new evidence in the case, and adjourned the trial for that evidence to be prepared.
He then clarified if Gordon’s evidence would continue, the defendant replied “no”.
Gordon and Marten are jointly charged with the manslaughter of their baby daughter Victoria when they were sleeping rough in a tent on the South Downs in early 2023.
The court has heard how the couple had fled from authorities to avoid their fifth child being taken into care amid a high-profile police hunt for Victoria.
The prosecution alleges Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in the “flimsy” tent, despite past warnings.
In his evidence on Wednesday, Gordon said the baby would still be alive had the police not pursued them after their car burst into flames on a motorway near Bolton.
He told jurors: “We had become deranged a little bit. We were off our heads.”
He said: “You have got two people being harassed by forces.
“Against this backdrop, why the national manhunt? When somebody chases you, what do you do? There was no hiding, running, off the grid.”
He said police should have considered their “panicked” state of mind when they found their burned-out car.
“If you have a woman who has just given birth to a child … why chase them if there is fragility? If that manhunt had not begun, things would not have happened. I had no intention to live in a tent.
“To chase two parents who love their baby. We did not want the baby to come to harm.
“It was the chase that precipitated these events. We were not in the state of mind where a sound decision can be made.
He added: “It is bad enough losing your baby. I have not had time to grieve and I am in a state of shock.”
Marten and Gordon have been convicted of preventing the lawful burial of a body and perverting the course of justice. They both deny manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The trial continues.
