:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/constance-marten-custody-image-071625-50d6c1c5c4134cbb95e1807414ca4e4b.jpg)
NEED TO KNOW
- A British couple were convicted of manslaughter in the death of their infant daughter
- Constance Marten, the child’s mother, is the daughter of a former page of Queen Elizabeth II
- Marten and her partner, Mark Gordon, were on the run from authorities for seven weeks
A British woman born into nobility and her partner were convicted of manslaughter in the death of their infant daughter.
Constance Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 51, were living in a “tent in freezing conditions” along with their newborn, Victoria, while on the run from authorities, according to Metropolitan Police. The couple were arrested following a seven-week manhunt in 2023, sparked by the discovery of a placenta in their burning car
Marten is the daughter of Napier Marten, once a page for Queen Elizabeth II, and the granddaughter of Mary Anna Marten, who was the goddaughter of the Queen Mother, according to the BBC.
The BBC reported Marten told friends that when she was a child, she would play with Prince William and Prince Harry.
Marten reportedly cut ties with her family in 2016, according to CBS.
Metropolitan Police/AFP via Getty
Prior to his relationship with Marten, Gordon had spent 20 years in a U.S. prison after being convicted of raping a woman at knifepoint in Florida when he was 14, according to the BBC.
Following his release from prison, Gordon was deported to the U.K. in 2010. The BBC reported that Marten and Gordon met a few years later.
Together, the couple had four other children in addition to Victoria.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Met Police said Marten and Gordon were arrested in Brighton, in southern England, in February 2023. On March 1, Victoria’s body was found inside a bag near where they had been staying.
Victoria’s cause of death remains undetermined, police said, though they claimed Marten told officers that the baby had died in her sleep and didn’t elaborate further.
“Victoria’s death was completely avoidable,” Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said in a statement. “The couple had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing and come forward to ask for help. They knew that officers were looking for them.”
