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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.
