Delay to Constance Marten evidence after complaints of headache and toothache

Marten, 37, and Mark Gordon, 50, are charged with the manslaughter of their daughter Victoria who died after they went off-grid in early 2023.

The Old Bailey was told the couple had gone to the south coast to avoid their fifth child being taken into care amid a high-profile police hunt for the missing baby.

It is alleged Victoria was inadequately clothed in a babygrow and that Marten had got wet as she carried the baby underneath her coat.

The prosecution alleges Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in the “flimsy” tent on the South Downs, despite past warnings.

The child’s body was discovered with rubbish inside a shopping bag in a disused shed near Brighton after the defendants were arrested on February 27 2023.

Marten had been due to start her evidence on Tuesday afternoon but the hearing was adjourned after the court heard she was suffering from a headache and toothache.

Addressing Marten’s barrister, Francis FitzGibbon KC, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: “Just before the jury came into court you indi...
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