Constance Marten was warned twice about the dangers of falling asleep with a baby years before she allegedly woke up with her newborn daughter dead in her arms, a court has been told.
The aristocrat, 36, was told by a social worker that keeping the baby in a tent in freezing temperatures during winter was ‘wholly inappropriate’.
Marten claims she fell asleep with Victoria in her arms under her jacket and woke up to find the baby had died, telling police: ‘I believe I fell asleep on top of her.’
Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon told social workers living in a tent was part of their ‘alternative lifestyle’ after the birth of their first child, the Old Bailey was told.
Marten, 36, and Gordon, 49, are accused of killing their newborn baby when they took her on the run in January last year to prevent her being taken away by social services. They both deny charges including manslaughter.
Victoria was found dead in a Lidl bag in an allotment shed in Brighton days after the pair had been arrested in February.
Constance Marten (pictured) was warned twice about the dangers of falling asleep with a baby years before she allegedly woke up with her newborn daughter dead in her arms
The aristocrat, 36, was told by a social worker that keeping the baby in a tent in freezing temperatures during winter was ‘wholly inappropriate’
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 court 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, died.
Victoria was later found dead in a Lidl bag for life where prosecutors say she spent most of her life.
A social worker who visited the tent with Marten said it was a ‘festival’ style tent not suitable for cold weather.
Prosecutor Joel Smith said: ‘The tent was bowed under the weight of rain water and smelled stale.
‘There were a number of black bin bags filled with clothes inside and outside. The blankets inside were cold and damp.’
The social worker spoke to Marten about the unsuitability of living in a tent.
Marten said she had clothing and nappies for the child and was told: ‘Some baby grows and nappies is simply not enough for a newborn baby to be safe..’
In a statement to police the social worker said: ‘I explained to her that it was winter, the conditions were freezing, and the cramped space would be wholly inappropriate for a baby to live in.
Marten (left), 36, and Mark Gordon (right), 49, are accused of causing the death of baby Victoria
Jurors were shown little Victoria’s face (centre) for the first time last month as her parents Constance Marten (right) and Mark Gordon (left) sat inside a kebab shop
In footage shown during the trial, Marten is seen keeping the baby under her coat before unzipping it and exposing her in east London on January 7
‘Constance responded that while it was challenging, they spent their days outside and only used the tent for sleeping at night.
‘She made it clear that she and Mark has an alternative lifestyle and that different people had different ways of living.
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‘She asked me not to judge her for this.’
Mr Smith added: ‘It was explained to Ms Marten by each professional present that falling asleep with a baby on you poses significant risks due to the potential for suffocation, overheating and positional asphyxia.
‘It was explained that ‘babies are more delicate and vulnerable, and their airways can easily become blocked when placed in certain positions, especially if they are sleeping on an adult’s chest.’
‘This increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome or accidental suffocation.
‘Ms Marten expressed her commitment not to causing the child any harm, and promised to adhere to the advice.’
She was told the baby must be placed in a Moses basket for sleep rather than falling asleep on her chest.
Mr Smith continued: ‘Concerns that Ms Marten would fall asleep with the child on her were raised a second time with Ms Marten.’
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.
The court heard that in 2017 Marten arrived at a hospital and concerns were raised as she was six months pregnant and had not sought any antenatal care.
She told staff she and Gordon lived in a camper van which was parked nearby.
A few months later a national hospital alert was raised as Marten and Gordon could not be located.
Mr Smith said: ‘A national hospital alert is an alert instigated by the NHS when they suspect a pregnant woman requires protection or support and it allows healthcare professionals to collaborate with other agencies to assess, intervene and provide necessary care to the mother and child.’
Later in 2017, Marten and Gordon arrived at a hospital in Wales and gave the names Isabella O’Brien and James Amer.
Mr Smith said: ‘Ms Marten told hospital staff that she had travelled [to Wales] to avoid her family and spoke with a fake Irish accent.
The shed in Lower Roedale Allotments, East Sussex, where a Lidl bag was found which contained the body of baby Victoria
A pictures shows the inside of the couple’s burnt out car. The baby’s placenta was found in the vehicle, the Old Bailey heard
A sketch of Marten (left) and Gordon with a dock officer at the Old Bailey in March 2023
The full inventory of the Lidl bag was read out in court – 1) KM everyday white medium bread 2) Heras fairy cakes 3&4) Walkers paprika 5) ES chocolate chip cake twin 6) Sunpat peanut butter 8) Jacks wild cheddar slices 14) Terry’s chocolate orange 15) Swizzels MNNS chews 16) Fruitella juicy chews 17) Rowntrees fruit pastels 23) Steroplast washproof plasters 24) Heinz salad cream 25) Fanta orange 26) Jacks carrots 28) Misc vegetables 37) MISC non-vat
The full inventory of the Lidl bag was read out in court – 10) Jacks raspberry Jam 13) Cadbury wholenut chocolate 18) Classic chocolate ice cream
The full inventory of the Lidl bag was read out in court – 21) Sliced turkey breast 29) I can’t believe it’s not butter 34) Snax cheese and onion 35) Delphi Tzatzki dip 36) MISC non-VAT 38) MISC vegetables 40) MISC vegetables 42) Mr Freeze X 5
The full inventory of the Lidl bag was read out in court – 4) Walkers paprika 9) Kumala Zenith Chenin 27) MISC non-VAT 30) SAXA salt table mini 33) Heinz baked beans 39) Heavy duty clear forks 41) MISC vegetables
‘She said that she was from the travelling community and had been raised in a caravan.
‘She said that she was no longer in a relationship with the father of her child, and that her family disapproved of a child being born out of wedlock.
‘She said that she had never been to school, nor been registered with a GP and did not have an NHS number.
‘She said that Mr Gordon, who was using the name James Amer, was a friend whom she had known for around a month but not the father of the child.
‘Ms Marten said that she did not have anything with her for the baby.
‘Ms Marten gave birth to the child under the assumed identity of Isabella O’Brien and still using an Irish accent.
‘When social services arrived, she told them that she had been living in a caravan.
‘The true identities of the couple were ascertained after a social worker recalled the nationwide alert.’
Marten told social workers she and Gordon had been evicted from their flat and had to live in the camper van.
She said they had moved to Wales to get away from her family but had struggled with the homeless community there.
Marten said that she thought if they posed as travellers they would be given social housing.
‘Ms Marten said she was homeless and did not know how she would meet the needs of her baby in her current situation.
‘She said that she was a capable woman, and would arrange for housing and state benefits to help her care for her children.’
Social services discovered Marten and Gordon had been living in a tent in a the woods.
Marten told the social worker her plan was to tell the authorities they were travellers fleeing from domestic abuse as she had read that she would then have to be provided with social housing.
She was advised to reach out to her family to secure housing and was told a court order would be sought if she could not secure a home.
Marten was then placed in a number of ‘mother and baby’ placements with the child.
At a meeting a social worker explained to Gordon there were concerns about the lack of preparations there had been for the child’s birth.
Mr Smith said: ‘Mr Gordon appeared to accept some of the concerns, but maintained that everyone has a right to chose how they live and that he felt he and Ms Marten should not be penalised or discriminated against because their lifestyle was not ‘mainstream.’
A supervision order was made allowing Marten and Gordon to care for the child under the supervision of social services.
Earlier, footage of the couple in a German Donner Kebab in East Ham, London, was replayed to the jury on the request of John Femi-Ola, KC, representing Gordon.
Mr Femi-Ola suggested the baby was being fed in the footage, which shows Marten holding the baby in a blanket and patting her.
Marten’s barrister Francis FitzGibbon KC asked for footage to be replayed of the couple searching through bins at Hollingbury Golf Course near Brighton on 20 February 2023.
He suggested that while the police officer had said Gordon could be seen holding an illuminated phone screen this was actually a reflection of something else.
The barrister said that no phones were found when the couple’s belongings were later recovered from the allotment where the baby’s body was discovered.
Marten’s wealthy 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 continues.