Latest news with #OldBailey
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Constance Marten moans she's ‘treated like a killer' in jail & brands inmates and lawyers ‘Dementors' from Harry Potter
Constance Marten has complained that she's "treated like a killer" in jail and brands her prosecutors like soul-sucking "Dementors." Posh prisoner Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 51, were convicted of gross negligence manslaughter after the death of their baby girl. 7 7 7 In a bitter rant to The View Magazine, a publication promoting reform for women in custody, Marten moaned about being 'treated like a killer' in jail. This is despite being found guilty over the death of her baby daughter. Marten and rapist boyfriend Gordon were convicted after their newborn Victoria was found dead in a Lidl shopping bag. Speaking from behind bars, Marten was very critical of her prosecutors and bizarrely told the prison magazine that they reminded her of the soul-sucking creatures in Harry Potter. "There's no empathy. I felt like I was being grilled as a serial killer." The 37-year-old aristocrat is locked up in HMP Bronzefield alongside notorious child murderers Lucy Letby and Beinash Batool following a four-month retrial at the Old Bailey. She also complained about being spoken to like a child and accused legal teams of trying to 'make angels look like devils and devils appear angelic'. Marten added: "They all use this disgusting tone, like they're reprimanding a small child. "I've heard them laugh and joke with others, but with me, it's always condescending. "I just shut down because no one wants to be spoken to like that. People say, 'Oh, they're just doing their job', but they're not. "They're paid to make angels look like devils and devils appear angelic." The mum barely mentioned her daughter, who prosecutors believe died from hypothermia or suffocation in a flimsy tent after the couple went on the run. Marten and Gordon sparked a nationwide manhunt in early 2023 after fleeing with their newborn, desperate to avoid the baby being taken into care like their previous four children. She gave birth to Victoria without seeking any medical assistance in early 2022 and kept her "their little secret". The infant had hardly any clothes or "means of keeping or remaining warm". Victoria, who spent 'much of her life' in a Lidl bag for life, was tragically discovered dumped among rubbish in a shed near Brighton. A jury found the pair guilty of gross negligence manslaughter after hearing harrowing details of how they ignored warnings and lived 'off-grid'. In a police interview, Marten later said: "I had her in my jacket and I hadn't slept properly in quite a few days and erm, I fell asleep holding her sitting up and she, when I woke up, she wasn't alive." Jurors were told Marten had been warned by social workers about the risk of falling asleep with a baby lying on her and that a tent was unsuitable. Both she and Gordon lost their appeal against the child cruelty convictions and are due to be sentenced in September. This comes as... Marten was a former Tatler 'It Girl" and her family had close links to the Royals. But her life spiralled out of control after she and Gordon, 51, met by chance in a North London incense shop in 2014. The couple went off the radar from her friends and family and formed their own self-styled cult living apart from society, with Constance even posing as an Irish traveller when she attended hospital while pregnant. Constance also travelled the world and went to festivals including Burning Man and Wireless, saying: 'Dance is my oxygen.' She spent her summer holidays in 2010 working for a film production company in Cairo. One of her colleagues there described her as being 'very decent, nice and friendly' and having 'great potential'. But she added that Constance sometimes chose the 'wrong' type of man, adding: 'She was somehow gullible.' During the trial, it was revealed that Gordon was convicted of a series of sexual offences - including rape - while living in the US. Gordon, who was 14 at the time, broke into the house of a next door neighbour wearing a nylon stocking over his face and armed with a knife and hedge clippers. He demanded the woman undress and attempted to rape her before carrying out the vile offences in the April 1989 horror. The victim of his crime told the BBC she was "floored" when she found out the man who attacked her 36 years ago was on the run from police in the UK in 2023. She said: "The four-and-a-half hours I spent with him was enough to know he is evil." On May 21 the same year, Gordon broke into another home with a shovel and battered a man inside. The fiend was sentenced in the US to 40 years in prison, of which he served 22 years. In 2017, Gordon was convicted of assaulting two female police officers at a maternity unit in Wales. Jurors were not told that Gordon was also suspected of a incident of domestic violence in 2019 which left Marten with a shattered spleen. 7 7 7 Timeline of baby 'killing' - how couple evaded cops CONSTANCE Marten and Mark Gordon allegedly sparked a 54-day manhunt across the UK after vanishing with their baby Victoria. Here's how the pair's journey began... December 20, 2022 Marten and Gordon booked into a holiday cottage in Northumberland, with the rental due to end on Boxing Day. The owner told jurors he found the property in "something of a state" on December 28. December 24, 2022 The couple claim their baby daughter was born this day but this has been disputed by prosecutors. December 28, 2022 Their Suzuki broke down on the M18 motorway so a recovery driver took them to a nearby Sainsbury's. There was allegedly no sign of the baby but the back and side windows of the car had been blocked by clothing. January 4, 2023 Marten and Gordon checked into the Ibis hotel at the Lymm Services in Cheshire then later the AC Hotel in Manchester. January 5, 2023 The couple's Peugeot 206 catches fire on the M61 motorway in Greater Manchester. Police launch an urgent probe after finding placenta, burner phones and Marten's passport, jurors were told. She and Gordon are taken to a Morrisons store in Bolton by a member of the public before being seen on CCTV at the nearby Bolton Interchange station. The couple allegedly use Marten's trust for a taxi to Liverpool, then a £400 cab to Harwich in Essex. Cab driver Ali Yaryar, who picked the couple up from Liverpool, told the court: "I think the baby had no clothes". January 6, 2023 The couple arrive in Harwich and check into a Premier Inn at around 3am. They later move to the Fryatt Hotel, where they paid in cash, it was said. January 7, 2023 Marten and Gordon travel by taxi to Colchester then to East Ham in London. The couple allegedly buy a buggy from Argos then grab another cab to Whitechapel. They ate in a Brick Lane restaurant then dump the new buggy - choosing instead to keep Victoria in a Lidl bag, jurors heard. January 8, 2023 The couple spend £475 on a taxi from Hornsey to Newhaven in East Sussex and walk to the South Downs National Park. January 9, 2023 Both Marten and Gordon claim baby Victoria died on this day - making her 16 days old, the court was told. It is said there is no way of knowing this for sure. January 12, 2023 Marten is captured buying snacks and petrol with cash but there was no sign of the baby. Prosecutors say she bought the fuel to cremate the baby but changed her mind. January 16, 2023 Marten and Gordon are seen setting up a tent in Stanmer Park Nature Reserve in the South Downs despite the cold weather. February 16/17, 2023 The couple are spotted near Hollingbury Golf Course in rural Sussex allegedly pushing a buggy with no baby. Their tent is later seen in Coldean Lane in Brighton A driver sees the pair walking towards Stanmer Park with something under Marten's puffer jacket, the court heard. February 19, 2023 Gordon and Marten are allegedly seen in their tent in the park with a very young baby with a "wobbly" head. Jurors told the baby had no socks, blanket or hat on. February 27, 2023 The couple are arrested in Hollingbury Place in Brighton but do not reveal Victoria's location at first, it is said. March 1, 2023 Tragic Victoria is found dead in a Lidl bag covered in rubbish inside a disused shed "like refuse", the court is told.
Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
Coward who murdered ex's 'gentle' dad in 'revenge' for break-up jailed for life
A cowardly killer who stabbed his ex-girlfriend's dad to death in the street to 'hurt' her family after she ended their relationship has been jailed for life. Kamar Williams, 34, was caught at Notting Hill Carnival after spending a month on the run for murdering bus driver Derek Thomas, 55, in Hackney, north-east London, last July 30. The Old Bailey heard Williams was 'simmering with rage' that evening after arguing with Derek's daughter Carron Thomas and their family. Jurors were told he had been looking for Carron and had sent threatening text messages warning: 'Dumb bitch, talking like you somebody, f**k it gonna show you something, coming to me with that fake confidence, watch this space.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video She had called the police twice in the hours before her dad was killed. Williams went to Mr Thomas's home looking for him or his daughter, but neither were in. As he was driving away, he spotted Mr Thomas walking home on Stoke Newington Common at around 11pm. Mr Thomas, who had been married for 35 years, had finished a late shift as a bus driver and gone into Tesco for some food before heading home. Williams stopped the van he was driving in the middle of the road, got out and stabbed the grandfather five times. Carron said her father was a 'kind, gentle and loving man' who 'did not deserve to have his life taken in such a senseless way'. In a victim impact statement that was read to the court, Ms Thomas said: 'What makes this loss even more painful is that the person responsible is someone I shared a relationship with. 'My family is broken. We are trying to carry on, but we do so with heavy hearts, we feel our father's absence in every moment.' Jailing Williams for life with a minimum term of 29 years, Judge Angela Rafferty KC told him: 'This was a merciless and determined attack. 'You killed him even thought at one time you had seen him as a father figure, as you told the jury. 'You knew how important he was to his wife and children as you had lived alongside them. You knew that targeting him would hurt them all. 'Mr Derek Thomas had nothing to do with the petty arguments you were having that night.' She added: 'I agree with the Prosecution's case that you picked a soft target. He was completely unaware of your presence until you appeared before him wielding the huge knife. 'He did not have a chance. You targeted him for revenge because of your own fury. More Trending 'I am sure that to this extent this was a planned and targeted attack motivated by anger and directed towards the Thomas family.' Detective Inspector John Marriott, who led the investigation, said: 'This was a brutal and premeditated attack on a much-loved father. 'Kamar Williams showed clear intent that night, driving to Derek's home, waiting for the right moment, and carrying out this senseless act of violence. 'The swift response from our officers, combined with extensive CCTV, forensic work, and determination from our investigation team, led to his arrest and conviction.' Earlier this month, a jury at the Old Bailey found Williams unanimously guilty of murder and guilty of having a bladed article. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 5 areas within commuting distance of London with prices under £400,000 MORE: What is devil's breath? The truth behind the 'world's scariest drug' MORE: Experts warn London to Berlin trains 'might not happen'
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Man accused of sharing video of computer game about Christchurch attack
A man is facing trial for allegedly sharing a video of a computer game about the Christchurch terror 16 July 2024, it is alleged Zayan Lorgat transmitted a video clip of a computer game depicting the Christchurch terror people were killed in the mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand on 15 October 19-year-old, of Grantham Road, Leicester, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday charged with four counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication via Telegram. According to the charge, at the time Mr Lorgat posted the clip, he intended or was reckless as to whether it would be a "direct or indirect encouragement to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism".On 21 May 2023, he allegedly transmitted a video clip depicting the Stephen Balliet shooting on 9 October right-wing terrorist Balliet shot and killed a female passer-by and a man at a kebab shop, after failing to break into a synagogue in Halle, 3 July 2024, Mr Lorgat allegedly posted a video clip depicting the Christchurch shooting and another video of the racially-motivated shooting in Buffalo in the US, where 10 black people were killed on 14 May Justice Cheema-Grubb said the case would be heard at Leicester Crown set a plea hearing for 7 November and a provisional 10-day trial from 20 July next defendant was granted continued conditional bail.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Sky News
Fugitive caught at Notting Hill Carnival sentenced for murdering ex-girlfriend's father
A fugitive caught at Notting Hill Carnival after murdering his ex-girlfriend's father has been sentenced to a minimum of 29 years in prison. Kamar Williams stabbed bus driver Derek Thomas, 55, in Hackney, northeast London, on 30 July last year. He escaped from police after crashing a hired BMW a few days later, but was captured at the carnival on 26 August. Williams, from the Isle of Dogs in east London, was last week found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey. Judge Angela Rafferty said he was "simmering with rage" on the night of the murder after arguing with his ex-partner Carron Thomas and her family. "I am sure that in your frustration and anger, you planned to have a violent confrontation with one of the Thomas family that night," the judge said at Friday's sentencing. The trial heard Ms Thomas had received threatening and abusive texts from Williams and called police twice in the hours before the stabbing. Williams - who had earlier gone to Ms Thomas's sister's address - went to her father's home looking for him or his daughter, but they weren't in. As he drove off, he spotted Mr Thomas on Stoke Newington Common at around 11pm. The bus driver had been to Tesco after finishing a shift. Williams stopped his van and stabbed him five times, leaving the contents of the shopping bag strewn over the pavement and road. "I am sure that you intended to kill Derek Thomas. This was a merciless and determined attack," said Judge Rafferty. "You killed him even though at one time you saw him as a father figure. You knew how important he was to his wife and his children as you had lived alongside them for two years." Williams claimed he acted in self-defence after the victim produced a knife and that he had wanted to talk Mr Thomas about his relationship with his daughter. Ms Thomas said her father was a "kind, gentle and loving man" who "did not deserve to have his life taken in such a senseless way". A family statement added: "Derek will be greatly missed by his family and friends, he was a dedicated family man and worked hard to provide for them. He was the life and soul of the family. "Derek was always on hand to provide support, knowledge, advice and was a calming influence when it was required. "His passing has left a massive hole in the lives of his wife, children, grandchildren, family and all that knew him. He was greatly loved by all and will never be forgotten."
Sky News
3 days ago
- Sky News
Four accused of damaging planes at RAF base could have to wait until 2027 for trial
Four people accused of damaging two RAF Voyager planes - in a demonstration allegedly carried out by members of Palestine Action - could have to wait until 2027 for their trial. They are alleged to have ridden scooters onto RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed the planes with red paint on 20 June. About £7 million worth of damage was caused to the aircraft, the Old Bailey heard. Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Lewie Chiaramello, 22, Daniel George Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Jony Cink, 24, are accused of conspiring to damage the aircraft and entering a prohibited area. The defendants appeared at the Old Bailey in central London on Friday and were told a shortage of court availability meant they would have to wait 18 months for their trial. A provisional trial fixture of six to eight weeks has been identified from 18 January 2027. However, judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said she would review the date at a plea hearing in January 2026. The four defendants are all currently on remand, and she said that a 2027 trial date meant an "inordinately long time" for the four young people to wait in custody. Friends sat in the public gallery, some made heart signs with their hands towards the defendants. One woman was in tears after the court dates were discussed. Last month, the UK government banned Palestine Action - meaning anyone supporting the group could be prosecuted under anti-terror laws.
