Constance Marten's baby was discovered in a plastic bag under some nappies in an allotment, a court has heard. The aristocrat and her partner Mark Gordon have been charged with manslaughter and remanded into custody after appearing in front of magistrates today.
The discovery was made in a wooded area on Wednesday night following a huge two-day search operation in Sussex. The pair blew kisses at each other across the courtroom, chatted and blew kisses in the dock, whilst they were charged with manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and that they were of no fixed abode during a short hearing in front of a packed Crawley Magistrates’ Court. Gordon wore two grey tracksuits, one conventionally, the other over his head. Marten also wore a grey tracksuit jumper. They will appear at the Old Bailey on Friday, March 31.
The Metropolitan Police have said they believe the baby, whose gender is still unknown, had been dead for "several weeks" before they were found. A post-mortem examination is set to take place today.
The baby's placenta was earlier found in an abandoned car. Marten, who comes from a wealthy aristocratic family, and Gordon were arrested on Stanmer Villas in Brighton on Monday.
The two-day search saw helicopters, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and drones, as well as hundreds of police officers and search and rescue teams, deployed to an area of over 90 square miles. On Thursday, the Met said it was “too early” to provide a specific date of death, with the force’s Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford adding that officers had been unable to determine the baby’s gender.
He told reporters the case had been referred to the police watchdog. He said: “At this stage we have not yet been able to confirm the baby’s gender and post-mortem examination has not yet taken place.
“Despite this, based on our inquiries we’ve carried out so far, we believe sadly the baby may have been dead for some time before they were found. It is too early for us to provide a more specific date.
“Because we believe the death occurred during the course of a missing person investigation, we have made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).”
An investigation was originally launched by Greater Manchester Police on January 5 after the couple and their baby disappeared. It extended to Liverpool, Essex and London before focussing on Sussex more recently.
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