"When Constance Marten fell pregnant for the fifth time with Mark Gordon, they were determined to keep the baby. Over the previous four years, a family court had removed their first four children from their care a decision the parents tried to claim was a miscarriage of justice driven by a corrupt social services system. So they hatched a plan to carefully conceal her pregnancy from the world and delivered baby Victoria in secret in a holiday cottage in Northumberland on Christmas Eve 2022."
"Moving on after less than a week, they were driving along the M61 when their car caught fire. Fleeing the scene before police arrived, officers found a placenta wrapped in a towel in the vehicle which sparked a frantic nationwide manhunt for the couple and their baby."
"From there they moved rapidly - paying in cash to zigzag across the country by taxi - while keeping the baby hidden under Marten's coat. As the high-profile manhunt intensified, so did their desperation, and when members of the public started recognising them they bought a cheap tent from Argos and headed to the South Downs to lay low away from prying eyes. Victoria would tragically die inside Marten's jacket as they sheltered in wintry conditions."
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon concealed a pregnancy and secretly delivered baby Victoria in a Northumberland holiday cottage on Christmas Eve 2022. Less than a week later their car caught fire; officers discovered a placenta wrapped in a towel, prompting a nationwide manhunt. The couple travelled across the country by taxi, paid in cash, hid the baby under Marten's coat, and later sheltered in a tent on the South Downs. Victoria died in wintry conditions while being carried in a jacket. The couple remained on the run for 53 days before arrest; Victoria's body was found days later, and both were convicted of manslaughter.
Read at www.independent.co.uk
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