‘Constance Marten pretended she was a Muslim so she could hide her face’
Aristocrat Constance Marten pretended she was a Muslim wearing a hijab as she tried to hide her face from a taxi driver while she was on the run with her baby Victoria, a court heard.
Marten, 36, and boyfriend Mark Gordon, 49, are accused of killing their newborn by taking her on the run in January last year to prevent her being taken away by social services.
Marten attended her trial today (weds) for the first time, having been absent for the first four days.
The baby’s placenta was found in an exploded car on a Manchester motorway sparking a huge police hunt as the couple traversed the UK trying to find a port to escape from, the Old Bailey heard.
The couple then spent nearly two months camping in a blue tent in the bitterly cold South Downs near Brighton before the baby, wearing only a onesie, allegedly froze to death.
Victoria was later found dead in the Lidl bag for life where prosecutors say she spent most of her life.
The couple met in 2016 and had four children in quick succession who were all taken into care after Marten gave birth to her first child using a fake Irish accent pretending to be a traveler, jurors have heard.
The couple deny the manslaughter of Victoria by gross negligence, concealment of the birth of a child, cruelty to a person under 16 and perverting the course of justice by disposing of the body.
Marten comes from a wealthy aristocratic family and her father was a page to Queen Elizabeth II.
Gordon initially sat beside Marten when he arrived in the dock today and asked if she was okay, before he was asked to move by a dock officer who sat between them.
Marten wore a white flowery blouse carrying a stack of folders and notes.
The couple continued to chat during court proceedings.
Marten later gave Gordon a hug as she left court for the mid-morning break.
Marten’s mother Virginie de Selliers, who has attended every day of the trial, sat at the side of court but her daughter did not appear to look at her.
On 7 January the couple flagged down a taxi driven by Abdirisakh Mohamud in Shoreditch.
Mr Mohamud said in a statement read to court: ‘The male told me to go to Enfield Tesco Extra.
‘I asked for a postcode and the male replied “just take us there.”
‘I couldn’t see much of baby but recall it was wrapped in something. I asked how old the baby was and the man told me he was two months old.
‘The man asked me “are you Muslim? and I replied yes. He then asked “do you believe in the Quran?” to which I answered yes.
‘He then asked “are you trustworthy?” and his questions started to make me feel uncomfortable.
‘He asked “is there a camera in your cab?” and I said yes even though there wasn’t a camera, because I wanted to feel safe.
‘Looking in the mirror his face didn’t appear happy. He then asked “are you sharing this conversation with anyone?”
‘These questions were asked in very quick succession with no pause in between which only added to my fear something was not right.’
Marten and Gordon were wearing blue Covid masks and hoodies over their heads, he said.
‘I asked why they were wearing that and the female said she was a Muslim and it was her hijab.
‘I said it was not a hijab and she said it was the only thing she had.
‘I asked him why he was wearing it and he said he had a problem with his hair.
‘At this time I decided I didn’t want to continue the journey. I had an uneasy feeling with this couple.
‘I told them I was not taking them any further and they needed to pay me £30.’
The couple gave him £20 saying it was all they had and left the taxi.
‘The more I thought about it the more I felt concerned for the baby and uneasy about the situation.’
Amanda Wilson, who works at the General Register Office in Southport, confirmed that there had been no record of the birth of a child between Constance Marten and Mark Gordon between October 22 and February 2023.
She confirmed there is a legal requirement to register a birth within 42 days.
Marten’s family lived at Dorset estate Crichel House during her youth and her grandmother was a playmate of Princess Margaret and goddaughter to the Queen Mother.
Marten and Gordon deny manslaughter by gross negligence, concealment of the birth of a child, cruelty to a person under 16 and perverting the course of justice.
They also deny causing or allowing the death of a child.
The trial is set to last six weeks.
After being thrown out of Mr Mohamud’s taxi in Harringay, north London, at around midnight the couple booked another taxi to Portsmouth.
They tried to haggle on the price but were told by driver Hasan Guzel that the price had been agreed when the taxi was booked.
They handed him £170 in cash, which was £5 short but he didn’t quibble, he said.
He said during the journey a phone pinged and he was redirected to Newhaven in East Sussex.
He said Gordon again argued about price as he ‘seemed unhappy about the change of address.’
Baby wear and various items of mens and women’s clothing were found dumped near the M61 where the couple’s car exploded.
Greater Manchester Police found baby wipes, Sudocrem baby lotion, nappies, pregnancy tests, four dummies, two pairs of baby mittens, three baby blankets, a baby romper, three baby grows and a bib.
Also found was sanitary pads, cosmetics, jewellery, tights, a fleece brown blanket, six hats and a wig.
A bag containing more than 30 pay-as-you-go mobile phones was also found along with a bible, sleeping bag, dog lead, paperwork, a hot water bottle and a pink dressing gown.
More than 20 notebooks including a pink and white ‘self-love’ note book and a green and purple notebook with ‘plans and dreams’ written on it were found.
Also found was a bailiff letter showing a debt of over £25,000.
Marten and Gordon abandoned their cat after their car broke down on the M61, the court heard.
The animal was found by police in a cat box near a playground next to the motorway.
The jury earlier heard cat litter was found in an Airbnb the couple stayed in over Christmas 2022.
On 8 January the couple were seen on CCTV walking out into the ‘wilds’ of the South Downs.
On 11 January Marten received £800 into her bank account.
Around 6am on 12 January Marten was seen at a Texaco garage in New Haven.
She bought sweets, water, scarfs and a baseball cap.
Marten used a pump to fill a glass bottle with petrol, paying with cash.
Gordon was outside carrying the Lidl bag for life, the court heard.
Police officer DC Martha Bourne said the bag appeared to blow in the wind, indicating it was not heavy.
Marten later claimed to police she bought petrol to cremate her baby, who she says died between 8 and 12 January.
Nicholas Frost saw Gordon come out of a blue tent near Stanmer Park outside Brighton on 16 January 2023.
‘My wife and I were walking our dogs when I noticed a blue tent in the woodland,’ he said.
‘It was a blue dome-style tent.
‘I thought this was unusual as you never see people camping in that area generally.
‘It was also very cold and not your typical camping weather, I’d say it was roughly minus two degrees. It was really windy.
‘At this point the male came out from inside the tent. This startled us and the male appeared to be startled as well. As soon as he saw me he put his head down and walked off.
‘I definitely got the impression he didn’t want to be seen.
‘The male was carrying two bags one of them was a bag for life which did look like it had stuff in it.
‘The other bag was a white or clear carried tied at the top like a rubbish bag.’
Mary Thompson, said she saw the tent on ‘hard ground’ near an electrical pylon on Coldean Lane, Brighton.
‘The first thing I noticed was there was a metal gate which looked ajar as if it was open.’
She said this was unusual and she told her husband: ‘They must be bloody freezing or mad.’
Ms Thompson said she had never seen a tent pitched in that area at that time of year before.
The trial continues.
