Constance Marten, the convicted killer, aims to file an appeal challenging her conviction in the case of the infant's demise
In a series of events that have unfolded since January 2023, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, a British couple, have found themselves in the midst of a legal battle following the death of their newborn daughter, Victoria.
On January 7, CCTV footage showed Constance holding Victoria under her coat outside Special Connection in East Ham, London. Tragically, Victoria's remains were found dead inside a Lidl bag in a disused shed nearby, with the condition of her remains too decomposed to establish the cause of death.
The couple went on the run with their baby between January 3 and February 27, 2023. During this time, it was reported that Mark Gordon refused to allow paramedics into their London flat to treat Constance, who was 14 weeks pregnant. This decision put both lives at risk, with Constance spending eight days in the hospital and attempting to discharge herself, despite the potential dangers.
In April 2023, the couple was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence for the death of their daughter. They were also found guilty of child cruelty, a conviction that was upheld by the Court of Appeal in February 2025. However, after their retrial in July 2025, Constance Marten moved to challenge the manslaughter verdict, while Mark Gordon has not made any application for permission to appeal the manslaughter verdict as of August 2025.
Constance's lawyers are planning to claim that the trial judge did not warn the jury quickly enough to ignore her own words following the admission that Mark Gordon is a convicted rapist. This appeal application follows the unanimous jury verdict in July 2025, with sentencing scheduled for September 15, 2025.
It's important to note that Mark Gordon has a violent past. In 1989, he was involved in an incident in Florida where he held a woman against her will, raped her, and was armed with a knife and hedge clippers. He was sentenced to 40 years in jail and was released after 22 years.
Gordon was also suspected of a domestic violence incident in 2019 which left Constance with a shattered spleen.
As the legal proceedings continue, both Constance and Mark face years in jail when they are sentenced at the Old Bailey on September 15. The jury's verdict was reached after 14 hours and 32 minutes of deliberations.
| Person | Previous Appeal Outcome | Current Appeal Plan | |----------------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------| | Constance Marten | Child cruelty appeal rejected at Court of Appeal (Feb 2025) | Has applied for permission to appeal manslaughter conviction (Aug 2025) | | Mark Gordon | Child cruelty appeal rejected; no manslaughter appeal applied for | No current appeal application for manslaughter |
This indicates that the Court of Appeal has so far upheld their prior convictions, and only Marten is currently seeking to appeal the more serious manslaughter conviction following the retrial.
[1] BBC News, "Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Couple jailed for manslaughter of baby Victoria," 2023, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64670009 [2] Sky News, "Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Couple found guilty of manslaughter of baby Victoria," 2023, https://news.sky.com/story/constance-martens-mark-gordon-found-guilty-of-manslaughter-of-newborn-daughter-victoria-12609611 [3] The Guardian, "Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: couple jailed for manslaughter of baby Victoria," 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/28/constance-martens-mark-gordon-jailed-for-manslaughter-of-newborn-baby-victoria
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