How manhunt for parents Constance Marten and Mark Gordon began | Manchester News

One of the most high profile manhunts in recent years started with the burnt-out shell of a car abandoned on a motorway.

Reports of the Peugeot 206, which had broken down on the M61 near Bolton, first reached firefighters in Greater Manchester on the evening of 5 January 2023.

Two years later, following a seven week manhunt and two trials at the Old Bailey, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon have been convicted of the gross negligence manslaughter of their newborn daughter.

The sprawling investigation that led to those verdicts started when the fire service got in touch with Det Insp Dave Sinclair at Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

Det Insp Sinclair, who has since retired, got the call about 18:00 GMT.

Speaking after the verdicts were announced on Monday, he said not only was the vehicle abandoned which itself raised questions, but there appeared to be “human remains” on the backseat.

It turned out to be a placenta after the birth of a baby girl – who became known as Victoria.

The senior detective said: “Clearly there was an immediate concern for the welfare of who might have been in the vehicle and where they’d gone.”

Det Insp Sinclair discovered the driver and passenger had been seen by witnesses after pulling up to the hard shoulder – and they were carrying a newborn baby.

The most obvious enquiries drew a blank – the car had been registered in a false name, paid for in cash and was uninsured.

In a stroke of luck, crime scene investigators were able to salvage documents dropped by Marten and Gordon as they fled, despite the fact they had been soaked in water by firefighters.

The documents contained their details, and after background checks on Marten and Gordon, Det Insp Sinclair said he grew increasingly worried.

Marten had grown up in privilege on a country estate, as part of a wealthy family with links to the Royals.

Gordon, the son of a nurse, had been convicted of the rape of his neighbour in Florida – a crime he committed aged just 14.

Marten had already fallen out with her family when she met Gordon, and the pair embarked on a chaotic lifestyle.

Most concerningly, they were forced to give up their other four children before Victoria was born amid allegations of violence from Gordon to Marten.

Det Insp Sinclair said: “We already had existing serious concerns because we had a newborn baby, people on foot in the vicinity of the motorway network, a vehicle having set on fire and left with no one inside it and an awful night in terms of weather.

“Their actions were not those of responsible parents.

“And added to that, from initial enquiries, we then became aware of information from about this couple that served only to escalate the concerns around why they hadn’t waited for the emergency services and had actively avoided the police.”

Bolton CID were able to build an initial picture of the couple’s movements after they hitched a lift into the town centre and got a taxi to Liverpool at 20:15.

CCTV footage and other evidence has since proved baby Victoria was alive at that stage.

The case was later handed over to the Metropolitan Police who arrested the pair on 27 February 2023.

There was no sign of Victoria, however, until 1 March when her remains were found in a Lidl shopping bag filled with rubbish in a shed on an allotment in Brighton.

At the Old Bailey, a jury heard how the pair had tried to keep a low profile and had hidden Victoria under Marten’s clothing and possibly in shopping bags.

Prosecutors said that while it was not possible to determine a cause of death due to her body’s decomposed state, it was likely the infant died after being exposed to the elements as the couple slept in a flimsy tent.

Gordon, the son of a nurse, had been convicted of the rape of his neighbour in Florida – a crime he committed aged just 14.

Marten had already fallen out with her family when the pair met, and they were forced to give up their other four children before Victoria was born.

For Det Insp Sinclair, the death of Victoria had been “completely avoidable” if the couple had sought help.

He described their actions as “clearly selfish”.

“I just feel really sad,” he said.

“This is such a tragic waste of life. It’s quite upsetting that we’ve got a young baby girl who has never really had any choice or opportunity in life and my view would be that this is solely down to the actions of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon.”

Marten, now 38, and Gordon, now 51, had already been convicted of child cruelty, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice by not reporting the death of their baby at a trial last year.

The jury in that case had failed to reach a verdict on the manslaughter counts, leading to the Crown Prosecution Service seeking a second trial.

The pair were found guilty on Monday 14 July, and will be sentenced on 15 September.