Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were holding hands and chatting to one another in the dock this afternoon as they appeared in court charged with gross negligence manslaughter.
Aristocrat Marten, 35, and partner Gordon, 48, were both visibly tired and vacant, having previously evaded police for 53 days from January 5 before they were arrested in Stanmer Villas, Brighton, on Monday.
The body of the couple’s baby girl, Victoria, was found in a Brighton allotment wrapped in nappies inside a plastic bag on Wednesday.
Journalists packed the small public gallery at Crawley Magistrates' Court today as Marten and Gordon appeared at 2pm – some four hours later than planned.
Marten came through a tunnel beneath the court, having spent the night in custody at Crawley Police Station. Gordon was driven from Brighton Police Station.
Both wore grey tracksuit bottoms and jumpers, while Gordon had a grey T-shirt on his head for much of the brief hearing.
They answered the three magistrates to confirm their names and dates of birth but were leaning around security guards to speak with one another for the remainder of the case – and were seen holding hands on two occasions.
Remanding Marten and Gordon into custody, chairwoman of the bench Carol Lintott said: “You are both here today on charges of manslaughter, concealment of the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
“We are sending the case to the crown court sitting at the Old Bailey. We are remanding you in custody until that time.”
Gordon scowled at Ms Marten and members of the press and slumped in his chair.
The court then heard that while the pair were on the run they travelled by taxis and stayed in hotels to avoid being found.
The alarm was first raised on January 5 after a placenta was found in the back of a car on the M61 near to where Marten’s passport was also discovered.
The couple arrived in East Sussex on January 8.
They later built a camp in an overgrown allotment plot near to where Victoria’s body was found this week following a major two-day search operation by Metropolitan and Sussex Police forces.
Marten and Gordon were led by security from the courtroom and will remain in custody until they appear at the Old Bailey on March 31.
Meanwhile, candlelit vigils have been held across Sussex as people come together to share their grief over baby Victoria.
READ MORE: Constance Marten and Mark Gordon appear in court after baby found dead
Floral tributes to the infant have been placed in Stanmer Villas.
One poignant note said: “I am so traumatised. I should have followed your cries. I will never forget."
Another of those paying tribute was 37-year-old Hayley Boulton, from Whitehawk, who said: "I came here today to let the baby know it was loved by the community in Brighton. It hits so close to home, and I was shocked when I heard the news."
"It's genuinely devastating. None of us knew this child, but the sad reality is that nobody ever will.”
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