Constance Marten's partner attacked police officers in maternity ward, court told

Independent

27-05-2025

The partner of wealthy aristocrat Constance Marten assaulted two female police officers at a maternity ward hours after she had given birth, a court has heard.
Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 50, are charged with the manslaughter of their baby daughter Victoria, who died in a tent on the South Downs in early 2023.
On Tuesday, the court heard about a 'strange' incident involving the couple in Wales hours after Marten had given birth to an older sibling six years before.
Gordon had pleaded guilty to assaulting Pc Sian Beynon and Detective Sergeant Delma Jones during the course of their duties in 2017.
Giving evidence, Det Sgt Jones said they had gone to the hospital after a baby was born in the morning, and medical staff raised concerns over the identity of the parents.
She asked the father several times for his name and date of birth before he gave the identity of James Amer, who was born on April 31, 1987.
The officer said: 'I asked him to confirm his date of birth, and he replied, 'yeah. At this time, I realised there are only 30 days in April.
'He started rocking backwards and forwards in a chair and acted confused muttering under his breath several times.
'I explained I wanted to do some checks on him. He then shouted out.
'He then shot up from his seat. He starts pacing backwards and forwards. He was clenching his fists and his behaviour completely changed.
'My colleague Pc Beynon was standing by the door. He walked up to her and pushed her to one side.'
Having already assaulted Pc Beynon, the officers tried to restrain him and stop him from making good his 'escape', the court heard.
'Mr Gordon had opened the door. He managed to free himself from our grip. He started running up to where his partner and baby was,' Det Sgt Jones said.
Gordon then went back into the corridor and tried to grab her again, causing her to fall to the floor, she told jurors.
'We were telling him to calm down, to comply. Obviously, we had concerns over where we were – there were babies and other people around. We were concerned what he was capable of.'
Det Sgt Jones said her colleague then deployed her Pava incapacitant spray at least twice.
She added: 'He was trying to escape while we were still holding onto him. We were asking him to calm down, stop resisting, but this had no effect whatsoever.'
She told jurors that she and her colleague were hit during the struggle before a new father stepped in to help.
'I left that incident being bruised. I had cuts on my hands. I can't say he struck me directly but in his attempt to get away from us, I probably was struck.'
The new father came out of a ward and assisted in restraining Gordon before more police arrived to arrest him, the witness said.
Det Sgt Jones told jurors the incident lasted about 10 minutes but she remembered the events very well eight years on, as they were so unusual.
The officer, who has 20 years' experience of policing, said: 'I remember them very well. This is a strange incident that I dealt with.'
The court has heard how a high-profile manhunt was launched in January 2023 after the defendants fled their burning car near Bolton, Greater Manchester, and went off grid in a bid to avoid their fifth child being taken into care.
The prosecution had alleged Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in a 'flimsy' tent, despite past warnings.
Her body was discovered with rubbish inside a shopping bag in a disused shed near Brighton after the defendants were arrested.
Marten and Gordon, of no fixed address, have denied the gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter and causing or allowing her death between January 4 and February 27 2023.
Jurors have been told the defendants were convicted at an earlier trial of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
The Old Bailey trial was adjourned until Wednesday.