An aristocrat and her partner who were reported missing for two weeks along with their newborn daughter are facing two new child abuse charges.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were charged with manslaughter by gross negligence on March 2 after the body of two-month-old Victoria was found in Brighton, East Sussex.
They were also charged with concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice. Ahead of a hearing at the Old Bailey on Monday, it emerged that the defendants face new charges of child abuse and causing or authorizing the death of a child.
It is alleged that they caused the baby’s death by their own “unlawful act” or failed to “take such steps as could reasonably be expected” to protect the baby.
The alleged violations allegedly took place between January 4 and February 27. Marten, 36, and Gordon, 49, of no fixed address, appeared from custody before Judge Mark Lucraft KC.
Marten appeared via video link from Bronzefield Prison and Gordon from Belmarsh Prison, speaking only to confirm their identities. Marten wore a pink and white floral print shirt and Gordon a gray tracksuit for the brief hearing.
Judge Lucraft entered a plea and hearing on case management from August 18 to September 22 and confirmed that the preliminary trial is scheduled for January 2 next year.
A new hearing was scheduled for August 25.
Victoria’s remains were found on March 1 in a plastic bag in a locked shed on an overgrown allotment in the Hollingbury district of Brighton. The discovery came after Marten and Gordon were arrested at Stanmer Villas in the city.
An initial autopsy failed to determine a cause of death. Police have been trying to find the suspects for weeks.
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