Jury discharged in Constance Marten trial over baby death

The jury in the trial of runaway aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner has been discharged. Marten, 37, and Mark Gordon, 49, have been on trial since January over the death of their newborn daughter Victoria.

The couple went on the run from authorities in December 2022, sparking a nationwide manhunt which culminated in their arrests.

Baby Victoria was found dead in a disused shed in the Brighton area in late February 2023, with her body discovered under rubbish inside a Lidl bag-for-life.

At the Old Bailey on Wednesday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, the Recorder of London, discharged jurors from further deliberations after they had considered the case for 72 and a half hours.

The judge excused all the jurors from future service for the rest of their lives, and thanked them for being a “truly exceptional example of dedicated public service”.

The defendants, of no fixed address, denied manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty, and causing or allowing the death of a child.

A hearing is due to be scheduled for a later date to discuss the future of the case.

Marten and Gordon may face a retrial.