A newborn girl who died after being taken to a tent in freezing conditions would still be alive but for the actions of her parents, prosecutors say.
Constance MartinThe 36-year-old and her partner Mark Gordon, 49, have been charged with a number of offences, including gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Prosecutors said Martin told “big lies” about her daughter’s death that “fell from her mouth like confetti in the wind” as she testified, adding that Gordon “didn’t dare” to provide Evidence that his “silence is deafening”.
Their trial at the Old Bailey heard the couple fled authorities in early 2023 in an attempt to leave baby Victoria behind after their four older children were taken into care.
The shopping bag in which Victoria’s body was found.Photo: Metropolitan Police
They lived in a “flimsy” tent in the South Downs last winter without electricity grid and Victoria had “no chance” during her “very short life”, the court was told.
In closing arguments on Monday, prosecutor Tom Little KC said: “That is the cold, brutal, brutal reality of this case. There is no point in softening it.”
“If it weren’t for the actions and inactions of these two defendants, baby Victoria would still be alive. No one else is to blame, is there?”
“Neglected and exposed to dangerous conditions”
Mr Little described Victoria as a “cold baby girl with only a babycoat and a vest and no hood” who had been “neglected and exposed to dangerous conditions”.
The court heard Victoria was found dead in a supermarket “life bag” on March 1 last year, wearing only a soiled nappy and hidden under “waste and debris” in a disused distribution shed in Brighton.
The pair were arrested in Brighton a few weeks later on February 27 after abandoning their car after it caught fire near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5, 2023.
The abandoned shed where Victoria’s body was found.Photo: Metropolitan Police
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Prosecutors allege Martin told “monstrous lies”, including her claim that a pram – bought and discarded in London that day – had a “sub-zero sleeping bag” on it, unlike the one shown to the jury that had “foot covers” “.
“There will be some degree of difference between this version and this mythical version in this case,” Mr Little said, pointing to the replica off-road vehicle on display in court.
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Mr Little went on to say that Martin’s version was not only a “clear lie” but was published with “self-righteous indignation” and was part of an “elaborate” conduct to “deceive” jurors. Eye.
The defendant, of no fixed address, denies gross negligence, perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child abuse and manslaughter of causing or allowing the death of a child.
The Old Bailey trial continues.
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