Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
The memorial made by locals in tribute to the deceased baby. | |
| Date | 5 January – 1 March 2023 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 55 days |
| Location | Bolton and Brighton, England |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Arrests | 2 |
| Suspects | Constance Marten Mark Gordon |
| Charges | Manslaughter by gross negligence, child cruelty, concealing the birth of a child, perverting the course of justice |
| Trial | 26 January – 19 June 2024 10 March – 14 July 2025 (retrial) |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions | 14 years (Marten) 14 years plus 4 years on extended licence (Gordon) |
| Sentence | Imprisonment |
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon are a couple who disappeared between 5 January 2023, when their burning car was found abandoned near Bolton, and the day of their arrest on 27 February 2023, in Brighton. Their disappearance coincided with the birth of their daughter. When the couple were subsequently arrested, they were not with their baby, triggering a police search involving over 200 officers across an area of around 90 sq mi (230 km2) extending from Brighton to Newhaven.
On 1 March 2023, the child's body was discovered in a shopping bag inside an allotment shed, near to where the couple had been apprehended. After two trials, Marten and Gordon were convicted of causing the child's death through gross negligence.