Constance Marten, Mark Gordon and their five children – a tragic story

Mary Welstead Visiting Professor in Family law University of Buckingham

 In 2022 Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon awaited the birth of their fifth child after their four previous children had been taken into care. The couple were determined that their fifth child would not suffer such a fate and decided to keep the fifth pregnancy and birth a secret. In December 2022 a baby girl named Victoria was born. Her life was short; early in 2023 she died whilst her parents were evading the police hunt for them. Constance and Mark were arrested and remanded in custody. In July 2025 following a retrial the couple were found guilty of causing Victoria’s death and in a very harsh judgment by HHJ Mark Lucraft KC the Recorder of London were given substantial prison sentences. The case raises two important issues. First Constance and Mark were blamed for Victoria’s death on the basis of ambiguous evidence and second throughout the legal proceedings the...