Baby killer Constance Marten granted permission to appeal her 14-year sentence over the death of her fifth child following nationwide manhunt with her rapist lover

By SIMON TRUMP and RYAN HOOPER, CRIME CORRESPONDENT Published: 18:20, 21 August 2026 | Updated: 18:20, 21 August 2026 Aristocrat baby killer Constance Marten has been granted permission to appeal her sentence, the Daily Mail can reveal. The 39-year-old is currently serving a 14-year jail term after being convicted of the gross negligence manslaughter of newborn daughter Victoria while on the run from authorities. Marten and her convicted rapist partner Mark Gordon were in hiding to prevent their baby being taken into care – something which had happened to their previous four children. But the seven-week nationwide manhunt came to a tragic end when they were arrested in Brighton in February 2023. The baby's decomposing remains were found in a shopping bag in a shed nearby two days later. It is believed Victoria died while they were sleeping in a tent in icy conditions. Marten and Gordon were convicted following a re-trial at the Old Bailey last year. But Marten has now been granted permission to appeal the 14-year sentence, the Mail has learned. She has also renewed her application to the courts for permission to appeal her conviction for gross negligence manslaughter, having already lodged at least one application some time ago. Constance Marten is appealing her sentence for gross negligence manslaughter over the death of her baby Victoria  Marten caught on CCTV while she was on the run with their baby   It is not known the grounds on which Marten is seeking a reduction in her sentence, nor why she has seemingly restarted the process to have her conviction quashed, and on what basis. No date has been set for any future court appearance. Sentencing the pair last September, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said their offending was made worse because the baby was vulnerable and the defendants failed to listen to past warnings. He told the defendants: 'It is clear throughout the period neither of you gave much or any thought for the care or love for your baby.' The judge said they had displayed 'arrogance' and treated Victoria to 'neglect of the most serious type'. Marten and Gordon were each also handed sentences of five years for perverting the course of justice, and 18 month terms for concealing the birth of a child, and child neglect. All sentences were concurrent with each other, and with the 14-year term for manslaughter. Police had launched a nationwide hunt after their car burst into flames on a motorway near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5 2023. The defendants travelled across England and went off-grid, sleeping in a tent on the South Downs where baby Victoria died days later. Her lover Mark Gordon was also jailed, after the pair went on the run  Your browser does not support iframes. The pair did not answer any questions about their baby until its body was found two days later. In 1989, Gordon, then aged 14, held a woman against her will in Florida for more than four hours and raped her while armed with a knife and hedge clippers. Within a month, he entered another property and carried out another offence involving aggravated battery. Gordon, who moved with his mother from Birmingham to the US at the age of 12, was sentenced to 40 years in jail and was released after 22 years. In 2017, Gordon was convicted of assaulting two female police officers at a maternity unit in Wales where Marten gave birth to their first child under a fake identity. Jurors were not told that Gordon was also suspected of an incident of domestic violence in 2019 which left Marten with a shattered spleen. Gordon had refused to allow paramedics into their London flat to treat her after she fell out of a window when she was 14 weeks pregnant, it emerged during legal argument. She spent eight days in hospital then put her life and that of her unborn child at risk by attempting to discharge herself, with Gordon's support, it was alleged. It was after that incident that the family court decided the couple's other children should be taken into care. When Marten became pregnant for a fifth time, she kept it secret, giving birth in a hired holiday cottage on Christmas Eve 2022. The defendants' attempts to keep Victoria under wraps prompted the major police alert after a placenta was found inside their abandoned car near Bolton. While on the run, Victoria was only briefly glimpsed on CCTV footage in London wearing the same teddy bear motif babygrow later recovered with her body inside the Lidl bag. Speaking after the pair were sentenced, Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, of Scotland Yard, said: 'The selfish actions of Mark Gordon and Constance Marten resulted in the death of an innocent newborn baby who would have recently had her second birthday and should have had the rest of her life ahead of her. 'This was an incredibly challenging investigation for the hundreds of officers across the UK who were involved in the search. Our main focus throughout the search was finding Victoria alive and we were devastated by the outcome.' Jaswant Narwal, chief Crown prosecutor, said: 'We were determined to seek justice for baby Victoria and honour her tragically short life. 'Marten and Gordon used different antics to frustrate and delay court proceedings, doing everything in their power to try and delay facing responsibility for their actions. 'No child should have had its life cut short in this preventable way. I hope today's sentences provide a sense of justice and comfort to all those affected by this tragic case.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.