Latest news with #babydeath
ABC News
7 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
NSW coroner unable to determine cause of death of baby found in freezer
A coronial inquest has found there is not enough evidence to determine the cause of death of a three-month-old baby boy whose body was found in a freezer at a rural New South Wales property. The body of the child, identified only as KP, was found wrapped in a blanket on the top shelf of a freezer at a Corowa property in 2022 after police were called to do a welfare check. The coroner, Magistrate Kasey Pearce, identified several "missed opportunities" between the mother and support services leading up to the baby's death, but found they were unlikely to have changed the outcome. The findings follow a three-day inquest held in Albury in December. The inquest heard the baby's family had been advised of the hearing but were not in attendance. No charges have been laid over the death. The inquest heard the last evidence of KP being alive was seven days before his body was discovered and that investigators suspected he died sometime during a four-day period in 2022. Magistrate Pearce said despite evidence from witnesses and medical experts during the inquest, it was not possible to determine the cause, manner or location of KP's death. "Several possibilities as to the cause of KP's death were canvassed in the evidence," she said. "The possibility of drowning, of suffocation accidental or otherwise, and the possible effects of inadequate nutrition, but ultimately the unsatisfactory state of the evidence is that none of the possibilities that were identified by the doctors rise to a level of probability." Magistrate Pearce said at the time of his "premature death", KP seemed to be thriving. The inquest heard during a police interview, the mother said she had left KP with a man who she referred to as "Only" in the days before the baby was found dead. Magistrate Pearce said she found the account given by KP's mother "inherently implausible". The coroner said there were inconsistencies in the way the mother had described the events to the police. "I am unable to accept that the events described by the mother occurred. "Unfortunately, the result is that there is simply no evidence to what occurred in the days leading up to KP's death." The inquest was told the mother had been referred to the NSW-run Safe Start program for families at risk of adverse outcomes in the perinatal period. The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) was also involved with the mother and baby after cannabis was detected in the baby's urine. Magistrate Pearce said the failure by DCJ to conduct a risk assessment of the case may have been a missed opportunity, but not one that was likely to have changed the outcome. She said in her opinion there were shortcomings in the DCJ practitioners' compliance with various policies and procedures, which in some respects could have been done better. But Magistrate Pearce noted her comments came with the benefit of hindsight. "I was impressed with the care and professionalism of all who dealt with KP and his family." The coroner recommended that Albury Wodonga Health and Murrumbidgee Local Health District work together to formalise the administration and governance of the Safe Start program for the catchment area.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- The Independent
Aristocrat Constance Marten's partner refuses to answer prosecution questions over baby death
The partner of aristocrat Constance Marten has refused to answer the prosecution's questions over the death of their newborn baby. Mark Gordon, 50, insisted he would only respond to queries which are 'relevant' to the case as he told the jury he was 'discontinuing his testimony' on Friday. The father, who is representing himself in court after his barristers withdrew, was due to be cross-examined by prosecutor Tom Little KC after giving evidence in his own defence earlier this week. He went into the witness box at the Old Bailey but before any questions were asked, he declared: "All right, that's it. I am finished with my testimony.' Judge Mark Lucraft KC warned him that jurors could draw inferences from his decision to cut short his evidence. However he insisted he was 'discontinuing his testimony' and returned to the dock. His decision comes after Ms Marten, 38, also refused to complete her cross-examination by the prosecution, having called another prosecutor, Joel Smith KC, 'diabolical' and a 'heartless human being'. The parents deny gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter Victoria and causing or allowing her death while they were on the run amid a high-profile manhunt in January 2023. The prosecution alleges Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in a "flimsy" tent after they took her 'off-grid' on the South Downs in a bid to stop her from being taken into care like their four other children. Victoria's decomposing remains were later found stashed in a rubbish-filled shopping bag in a disused allotment shed. In tearful evidence on Wednesday, Mr Gordon blamed the police for setting off a series of 'calamitous' events culminating in Victoria's death. The father questioned who had given the command to launch a nationwide manhunt for them, telling the jury: 'If that manhunt had not begun, things would not have happened. I had no intention to live in a tent. 'To chase two parents who love their baby. We did not want the baby to come to harm. 'It was the chase that precipitated these events. We were not in the state of mind where a sound decision can be made.' He said he and Ms Marten 'put ourselves out' to ensure the baby's wellbeing and 'no-one could have anticipated' her death. Weeping in the witness box, Mr Gordon had said they had been treated like 'monsters' and dragged through mud like 'scum' over what happened. He also told the jury his mother was a hard-working nurse who was passionate and empathetic and had instilled 'compassion' in him. He had said: 'The idea I was underprivileged was not the case. My mother had two or three houses. She always provided for us. She showed me empathy.' The defendants, of no fixed address, deny the gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter and causing or allowing her death between 4 January and 27 February 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 retrial continues.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- The Independent
Constance Marten's partner claims baby only died because of police manhunt
The father of a baby found decomposed in a shopping bag has blamed a national police manhunt for the death of his and his partner Constance Marten's child. Mark Gordon, 50, said that he and his aristocrat wife, 37, had become 'deranged a bit' when they decided to live off-grid, and said their newborn would '100 per cent' be alive if they had not been avoiding the police. The couple are on trial charged with the manslaughter of their baby daughter Victoria, who died on the South Downs in early 2023 following a large-scale police search. The prosecution alleges Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in the 'flimsy' tent, despite past warnings. Judge Mark Lucraft KC previously told the jurors that from now on Gordon was going to represent himself after his barristers withdrew from the case. Taking to the witness stand, Gordon blamed the decision for the police to launch a manhunt to search for them, saying: 'If it had naturally played out, I believe the baby would still be alive today, 100 per cent, because ultimately we would have done the right thing.' He said that he and Marten were already in a 'scared state' after accusing private investigators of trailing them, and felt that they were 'being harassed by various forces and this impacted our minds'. 'We had become deranged a little bit. We were off our heads,' Gordon told jurors. The couple had previously been travelling around the country staying in Airbnbs and hotels, and said that prior to the manhunt they were 'walking around and not hiding'. Gesturing towards jurors, he said that police officers should have undertaken a risk assessment and realised that he and his wife were 'panicked' and 'afraid'. 'Who gave the command to do a national manhunt, we weren't in the right state of mind,' he said. He continued: 'If you have a woman who has just given birth to a child … why chase them if there is fragility? If that manhunt had not begun, things would not have happened. I had no intention to live in a tent. 'To chase two parents who love their baby. We did not want the baby to come to harm. 'It was the chase that precipitated these events. We were not in the state of mind where a sound decision can be made.' Referring to his wife, Gordon said: 'In regards to my beautiful noble wife, who is nothing more than a passionate, strong individual, she has been nothing but kind and wonderful to me and the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life.' Despite him and Marten's attraction and love for one another, he said that their relationship had come with challenges and that 'forces' had not agreed with their match and posed difficulties for them. 'It has culminated in this courtroom sitting in a dock with 12 jurors deciding our fate,' he said. The Old Bailey has heard the couple had wanted to avoid their fifth child being taken into care amid a high-profile police hunt for the missing baby. The child's 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 trial continues.
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
10th review initiated at Portiuncula Hospital after death of baby
A further review into maternity care provided at Portiuncula Hospital in Co Galway has begun following the death of a baby in recent weeks, the HSE has confirmed. It is now the 10th review that is taking place into the care given to women and babies at the hospital. The investigations were initiated after six babies delivered in 2024 and one in 2025 had hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) – a reduction in the supply of blood or oxygen to a baby's brain before, during or after birth. Six of these babies were referred for neonatal therapeutic hypothermia known as neonatal cooling. In addition, two stillbirths occurred at the hospital in 2023 and the circumstances were also being reviewed externally. READ MORE None of the external reviews, nine of which were announced in January, has been completed to date. It is understood the death of another baby occurred over recent weeks and an external review was initiated shortly afterwards. The HSE said it was engaging with the family at this time. The HSE announced in late January that external reviews were being conducted into the delivery of nine babies at the hospital and the expectation was that most of them would be concluded by early March. A spokeswoman for the HSE said it anticipates a number of them will be completed 'shortly'. 'A further external review has recently commenced into the care provided to a pregnant woman at the hospital, where sadly her baby died,' a spokeswoman for HSE West and North West told The Irish Times on Thursday. 'This brings to 10 the number of reviews underway into care provided to women and babies at the hospital.' [ Portiuncula hospital reviews will need to examine three key factors Opens in new window ] Dr Pat Nash, regional clinical director for HSE West and North West, said in January he expected seven of the reviews would be completed in the next month, while the other two would take another three to four months. The HSE said the reviews being carried out at the hospital were 'independent and external to the hospital and region'. 'This process is ongoing, once completed the findings of each individual review will be shared with the families involved,' it said. It added it was important to give the review teams 'time and space' to conclude their work. It is understood one team is conducting five of the reviews with a number of other teams overseeing the others. An external management team remains in place in Portiuncula Hospital to 'oversee all elements' of maternity and neonatal care. 'The team are working closely with the women and children's network in the region and the local maternity unit to ensure quality and safety in the service,' the HSE said. A spokeswoman for the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said last week that she had met with the families involved in the cases being reviewed. 'She [the Minister] is aware that the reviews are ongoing and understands that they are expected to be completed soon,' the spokeswoman said. 'Once the review reports are completed, these will be shared with the families, and other key stakeholders including the Minister. The Minister has asked the HSE to keep the families updated throughout this process and provide whatever supports they require.' A previous inquiry into maternity services at the hospital was established in early 2015 with James Walker, professor of obstetrics at the University of Leeds, appointed to head it. The findings of the Walker report, published in May 2018, identified multiple serious failures including staffing issues, a lack of training and poor communication among maternity staff, which contributed to the death of three babies. Of the 18 births examined, six involved either still births or the death of the baby shortly after delivery.
The Independent
08-05-2025
- The Independent
Constance Marten tells jury aristocratic family member ‘doesn't want me alive'
Constance Marten has claimed a member of her aristocratic family 'doesn't want me alive' and 'will stop at nothing to get what they want' as she was cross-examined by her partner Mark Gordon. The mother, who is standing trial over the death of her fifth baby while on the run, told jurors at the Old Bailey she was tracked by private investigators who she believes tampered with their cars. She said 'all hell broke loose' with her influential family after she returned from a trip to Peru several years ago pregnant with Mr Gordon, who is now representing himself in court after his barristers withdrew. Under questioning from her co-defendant, she said the couple were being watched and photographed in a 'cat and mouse game' with her estranged family. Marten told jurors that they were pursued by private investigators, that multiple vehicles they had used stopped working and that she found a GPS tracker on one. She told the jury she was 'very fearful' after their car exploded shortly after the birth of Victoria, their fifth child, who they had concealed from the authorities to stop her being taken into care like their four other children. 'I just feel that after I spoke out about a family member of mine eight years ago… that's why I feel that this person doesn't want me alive and feel that he might be behind the explosion of the car,' she said. She said they previously spent several months living in a camper van to evade her family, but the steering later failed, adding: 'There's a few people in my biological family that see me as an embarrassment and are scared that I will speak out against them and will stop at nothing to get what they want. 'I think some people from privilege think they are above the rules. It's harrowing because you are up against these people who will stop at nothing and have endless resources and connections and I just don't feel that I can get away from them.' Ms Marten, 37, and her partner Mr Gordon, 50, deny the gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter Victoria and causing or allowing her death in January 2023. The prosecution alleges Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in a "flimsy" tent on the South Downs, despite past warnings. Marten told jurors that the tent was intended to be a "pit stop" to avoid "prying eyes". She wept as she said that she would "turn back time" if she knew Victoria was in danger, adding that they "spent so long trying to protect her". Victoria's decomposing remains were later found stashed in a rubbish-filled shopping bag in a disused allotment shed. Last year, the parents were convicted of concealing the birth of the child and perverting the course of justice in a previous trial. The trial continues.
