Constance Marten has claimed a member of her aristocratic family “doesn’t want me alive” and “will stop at nothing to get what they want” as she was cross-examined by her partner Mark Gordon.
The mother, who is standing trial over the death of her fifth baby while on the run, told jurors at the Old Bailey she was tracked by private investigators who she believes tampered with their cars.
She said “all hell broke loose” with her influential family after she returned from a trip to Peru several years ago pregnant with her first child with Mr Gordon, who is now representing himself in court after his barristers withdrew.
Under questioning from her co-defendant, she said the couple were being watched and photographed in a “cat and mouse game” with her estranged family.
Ms Marten told jurors that they were pursued by private investigators, that multiple vehicles they had used stopped working and that she found a GPS tracker on one.
She told the jury she was “very fearful” after their car exploded shortly after the birth of Victoria, their fifth child, who they had concealed from the authorities to stop her being taken into care like their four other children.
“I just feel that after I spoke out about a family member of mine eight years ago… that’s why I feel that this person doesn’t want me alive and feel that he might be behind the explosion of the car,” she said.
She said they previously spent several months living in a camper van to evade her family, but the steering later failed, adding: “There’s a few people in my biological family that see me as an embarrassment and are scared that I will speak out against them and will stop at nothing to get what they want.
“I think some people from privilege think they are above the rules. It’s harrowing because you are up against these people who will stop at nothing and have endless resources and connections and I just don’t feel that I can get away from them.”
Ms Marten also claimed the couple were victims of prejudice and she was told in “no uncertain terms” by her family that she could not buy a house with her trust fund if she was still with Mr Gordon.
“At some point you have got to accept someone’s decisions and choices if they are an adult,” she added. “I feel that Mark and I have received a huge amount of prejudice, especially from my family.”
Ms Marten, 37, and her partner Mr Gordon, 50, deny gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter Victoria and causing or allowing her death in January 2023.
The prosecution alleges Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in a “flimsy” tent after they took her “off-grid” on the South Downs amid a high-profile manhunt.
Victoria’s decomposing remains were later found stashed in a rubbish-filled shopping bag in a disused allotment shed.
Marten told jurors that the tent was intended to be a “pit stop” to avoid “prying eyes”. She wept as she said that she would “turn back time” if she knew Victoria was in danger, adding that they “spent so long trying to protect her”.
Under questioning from Mr Gordon, she said she was left suicidal after her other children were taken into care by social services and he is the only reason she is still alive.
She described taking Victoria on the run as a “selfless act”, adding: “Mark and I don’t relish being on the move constantly it is a constant upheaval you can’t put down roots anywhere…but we did it because we love our daughter so much. It was a parental love, it was a selfless act.”
She said she did not know if she “fell asleep, blacked out or fainted” but woke up slumped over the lifeless infant.
Asked by Mr Gordon if Victoria died as a result of lack of love, she replied: “I can’t say why she died. I have got a strong faith in God – maybe it was her time. But it was the opposite of a lack of love.
“I love being a mum that’s what I want to do with my life. Some people think, in this day and age, get a career but for me being a mum is the best job in the world.”
She later called prosecution counsel Joel Smith KC “diabolical” and “heartless” as he asked her whether leaving Victoria’s body in a bag filled with rubbish was a “despicable thing” to do.
“Mr Smith you are diabolical…I find the way you cross examine me really uncouth,” she said. “You really are a heartless human being.”
After he questioned her journalism experience and why she gave fake names at hotels while on the run she broke down the in dock, telling the court she found Mr Smith “abhorrent” and she was tired of being “grilled and my character being defamed”.
“I understand that I am being prosecuted but I am just not going to sit here and be spoken to like that,” she added in the outburst.
Ms Marten also hit out at the police, who she said “wanted their pound of flesh”, adding: “I just passed out from exhaustion and although they are not directly responsible the onus is on them. They should know that doing a big manhunt with a parent who’s just given birth – it’s just completely unnecessary.”
Last year, the parents were convicted of concealing the birth of the child and perverting the course of justice in a previous trial.
The retrial continues.
Source: independent.co.uk
