Constance Marten: Why has trial of aristocrat and her partner Mark Gordon been delayed?
Jurors will resume their deliberations later this month to decide if Marten and Gordon are guilty of manslaughter
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The trial of aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon over the death of their baby had been due to last six weeks – but has now entered its fourth month after a string of delays.
Marten, 36, and Gordon, 49, both deny gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter Victoria after they went on the run to stop her from being taken into care like their four other children.
The mother insists she fell asleep with the newborn infant zipped inside her jacket as they camped in wintry conditions in a “flimsy” tent on the South Downs last January, but awoke to find her dead.
The child’s remains were eventually found in a Lidl carrier bag covered with rubbish in a disused shed in Brighton last March, shortly after the parents were arrested after 53 days on the run with the newborn.
When is the trial due to resume?
Jurors have so far been deliberating for a total of five days since they were sent out on 30 April after hearing weeks of evidence over the infant’s death.
However the 11-strong panel of six men and five women will not resume deliberations until 20 May at the earliest due to a long-standing juror commitment after the trial has dramatically overrun.
The high-profile hearing was originally scheduled to conclude by 8 March but has lasted much longer as the court painstakingly made its way through evidence including CCTV footage, pathologists reports and police interview recordings.
The long-running case also heard six days of evidence from Marten, who insisted she did “nothing but love” Victoria, who she says died in a tragic accident last January after she fell asleep with her zipped inside her jacket.
Prosecutors accused Marten of telling “big fat lies” to the court after the baby’s decomposed body was found dumped in a rubbish-filled carrier bag after the couple spent 53 days on the run.
Why has it been delayed?
The trial has been beset by a string of delays including a blaze in an electrical substation at the country’s top criminal court.
The fire at the Old Bailey – which plunged the court into darkness while black smoke billowed from the rear of the building – forced an emergency evacuation of the trial and closed the court for four days while repairs were carried out.
More than 1500 people poured out of the Grade II listed court in central London after an ‘explosion’ was heard as the fire broke out on 7 February, postponing dozens of trials and hearings.
Defendants held in custody were seen being led from the building and evacuated in prison vans as officials cleared the building to assess the damage.
The long-running case has been further slowed by pre-existing jury commitments after the trial exceeded the original time schedule.
Last Wednesday members of the jury were told to press the “pause button” on their deliberations for more than a week due to juror commitments until 20 May, when they are due to resume at 9am.
The prosecution claims baby Victoria “didn’t stand a chance” during her short life after she was taken off-grid wearing just a baby grow and a vest last winter.
Jurors must decide on five counts on the indictment. The couple both deny gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter Victoria between 4 January and 27 February last year.
They also deny charges of perverting the course of justice by concealing the body, along with concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty, and allowing the death of a child.
The trial continues.