Baby killer Constance Marten's cult life - 'humiliation, nudity and exile'
Constance Marten swapped aristocratic circles for a dangerous life on the run - but before her haunting life off-grid with Mark Gordon, she reportedly spent six months in a dangerous cult.
The couple were convicted of child cruelty at their first trial in 2024 for their baby daughter Victoria, whose decomposed remains were discovered in a rubbish-filled Lidl 'bag for life' in an allotment shed in Brighton in March of that year. Until now, there was an order preventing the media from reporting that verdict. Today, a jury at the Old Bailey also unanimously found Marten and Gordon guilty of the manslaughter of their newborn.
Marten, 36, and Gordon, 49, had been living on the run in wintry conditions at the time of Victoria's death. The mother told the court that her child had died after she fell asleep with her zipped inside her jacket on January 9, 2023, shortly after her birth on Christmas Eve 2022.
The defence team argued that Marten and Gordon went off-grid as they'd wanted to keep baby Victoria after four other children were all taken into care.
Those who know Marten previously told how she spent six months as a 'disciple' at a Christian cult - a period that friends say left her 'confused and traumatised'.
In 2006, a teenage Marten joined the Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos, led by megachurch 'prophet' TB Joshua, who was accused of rape and torture following a BBC investigation.
According to the Daily Mail, after leaving her £30,000-a-year private school, she went there with her mother, Virginie de Selliers.
Joshua, who his disciples called 'Daddy', had a huge global following thanks to the 'miracles' he carried out, videos of which the BBC later claimed had been faked. In interviews with the broadcaster, one woman claimed she had to recruit teenage female disciples for Joshua - especially virgins, while others alleged they had been stripped and beaten with electrical cables and horse whips.
Joshua died in 2021, and SCOAN did not address the claims but has denounced previous accusations, stating: "Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua is not a new occurrence… None of the allegations was ever substantiated."
For a 19-year-old Marten, aspects of life in the church are said to have been 'humiliating' - including being made to eat Joshua's leftovers. On another occasion, Marten was reportedly placed in social exile as punishment for not being 'focused enough' on the SCOAN leader.
A fellow disciple using the name Angie was there at the same time as Marten, and described it as "a place of torture" and sexual assault to the BBC. There is no suggestion that Marten was subjected to either.
Marten was, however, apparently forced into gruelling work running the synagogue, all while living in dorm rooms with as many as 100 followers. After she was kicked out, Marten also reportedly experienced psychosis, and, on one occasion, is said to have collapsed on the floor laughing while in a Starbucks queue.
Nudity was insisted on, according to the Mail, with a source claiming: 'If you were going to shower or get changed, you were not permitted to cover up or use a towel for discretion,' said the source.
"You would be reported to Joshua publicly in a disciple meeting if you tried to 'hide' your body. So people were literally forced to walk around naked in the room. For many of us, this was an uncomfortable experience."
Pastor T B Joshua, who died aged 57 in June 2021, was known widely across Africa and Latin America and was renowned for his claims that he could heal the sick through the "supernatural power of God". Marten - whose friends call her Toots - is reported to have joined Joshua after she attended an evangelical-style course exploring Christian beliefs in London.
Her friend, who wishes to remain unnamed, told the Daily Mail: "She ended up becoming one of his disciples in Nigeria. I believe she got brainwashed while she was over there. The experience traumatised her. She was not the same person when she came back. She always used to be wild, but also happy, kind and buoyant. She was darker when she came back, and she found things more difficult
"She never told us what really happened. T B Joshua was a God-like figure. It was scary, and I believe it changed her. It was a huge part of her life." The friend said that after returning from Nigeria, Ms Marten had "strained relations with her family".
She added, "She was still exuberant in everything, but she found relationships very hard. It was like she came back totally f***ed. She was more rebellious. She thought she had recovered, but it was difficult for her."
Meanwhile, Angie claimed the church was "a place of torture, psychological abuse, physical abuse, spiritual abuse, and sexual abuse" under Joshua, and that Marten continued to be traumatised long after she left.
Between 2012 and 2014, the pair messaged on Facebook with Marten reportedly writing: "I haven't spoken to anyone about what happened at the synagogue. All my university friends are secular, and if I told them about what I'd seen in Lagos, they'd think I was lying or mad!
"It's taken me years to get back to normal."
Shortly before Marten's arrest in February 2023, ex-disciple Joe Hurst, who left the church shortly before Marten joined, told The Independent that the heiress had contacted him six years later, explaining that she'd wanted to make a documentary about her experiences. Hurst warned her against carrying out any investigations for fear she would be 'caught'.
Former British soldier Hurst claimed Marten was left doubting her Christian faith after her stint with the church, and would wonder aloud, "How could God allow this to happen to us?"
He continued: "She would talk about paranormal activity in her life. She said she would meditate, and she would get a buzz, and an aura would come over her. But after a while, she said it got out of control and would become quite scary.
"She said it culminated when she was in the queue in Starbucks, and she collapsed and was just laughing on the floor. She knew it was a problem, and she was really scared, so she told some church people to pray for her, and it stopped after that."
Matthew McNaught, author of the book Immanuel about the church, also said Marten had contacted him in 2011, seeking help, describing her as having been 'confused and traumatised'.
In a post shared via her LinkedIn page, Marten said that she'd pitched a documentary about SCOAN while working with Al Jazeera. She wrote: "Pitched an idea for a documentary about a religious cult in Nigeria. Wrote, researched and investigated the corruption charges and illegal activities of the group. Tracked down former members of the sect, in the UK, Nigeria, Ghana and S. Africa, in order to gather solid first-hand information."
Alexandra Stein, of the Family Survival Trust, told The Independent that SCOAN is definitely a 'cult', claiming that Marten 'would have been brainwashed'. Stein said: "I've had enquiries over the years about SCOAN. TB Joshua was recruiting in the UK at one point, and I know Constance Marten was involved. He's charismatic, a bully, and goes after young women.
"I'm sure she would have been brainwashed in SCOAN, that's what these guys do. People coming out of cults are traumatised, and there's not a lot of support. It's also very stigmatised. It's a difficult thing for anyone to say 'I've been in a cult'."
Charismatic leader Joshua, who died in 2021, had an enormous global following, with his church at one point attracting some 15,000 worshippers every Sunday. In January, BBC News published findings from a two-year investigation which uncovered serious allegations made against Joshua, including rape and forced abortions.
One British woman, named Rae, alleged that Joshua had sexually assaulted her and had subjected her to a type of solitary confinement for two years. The severe abuse allegedly resulted in her making multiple suicide attempts while living inside the compound.
Rae claimed: "We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and in hell, terrible things happen."
If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
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