Constance Marten received nearly £48,000 from a family trust in the five months leading up to her baby’s death last year. The money was deposited into her Metro bank account. During the period when police were searching for Marten and Mark Gordon, she had over £19,000 in her account. The couple is currently on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of the manslaughter of baby Victoria through gross negligence, a charge they deny. The baby’s body was discovered in a bag in a shed on a Brighton allotment last March.
Det Sgt Steve Ferguson informed the jury that starting from September 2022, Marten began receiving monthly payments from the Sturt Family Trust, facilitated by the private bank Hoares. The payments initially amounted to £2,500 per month, but increased to £3,400 per month in December 2022.
During this period, Hoares Bank also paid Marten £3,800 for storage costs. On November 13, she received £13,596 for camera and filming equipment, stating she wanted to resume work. On December 22, she received £15,590 to purchase a new car. From September 2022 to mid-January 2023, Hoares Bank deposited a total of £47,886 into her account.
In December, several cash withdrawals ranging from £50 to £300 were made. Two large withdrawals of £4,000 and £2,000 were made on December 31, 2022, and January 5, 2023. On the latter date, the car used by Marten and Gordon caught fire. At that time, Marten’s Metro Bank account held £19,083.10.
While police were searching for the couple in the following weeks, no money was withdrawn until February 27, 2023, the night they were arrested. The prosecution alleges that during this period, the couple was living in a tent on the South Downs with their newborn baby.
On March 1 last year, baby Victoria’s body was found in a Lidl supermarket bag in a disused shed on the allotment. In addition to manslaughter, Marten and Gordon are charged with four other offences: cruelty to their baby, concealment of the baby’s birth, causing or allowing her death, and perverting the course of justice by hiding the body. They deny all charges. The trial is ongoing.
