Constance Marten granted appeal for newborn's death sentence

Constance Marten has been granted permission to appeal her 14-year prison sentence following the death of her newborn daughter, Victoria, in January 2023. Marten and her partner, Mark Gordon, were evading authorities after their car caught fire near Bolton. The couple spent seven weeks traveling through England in isolation to avoid social services, eventually camping in a tent in the South Downs area.

Victoria died from exposure to extreme cold. The child's body was later discovered in an abandoned garden shed, placed inside a plastic bag. Following two six-month trials, both Marten and Gordon were convicted of manslaughter, child cruelty, concealing a birth, and obstructing justice.

Judge Mark Lucraft rejected defense claims that the infant had accidentally suffocated while the parents slept, instead describing the case as “extreme neglect of a helpless child.” While both received 14-year sentences, Gordon was also ordered to undergo four years of supervision following his imprisonment. Marten is now seeking to appeal both the length of her sentence and the manslaughter conviction itself.