Constance Marten, 38, has lodged an application to appeal her conviction for the manslaughter of her newborn daughter, Victoria, following one of the UK’s most high-profile trials in recent years.

Marten and her partner Mark Gordon, 51, were found guilty earlier this year of manslaughter by gross negligence, concealing the birth of a child, and perverting the course of justice. They are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on September 15, with prison terms expected.

Appeal bid

Marten has applied to the Court of Appeal to challenge the manslaughter conviction.

The move follows a retrial in which jurors deliberated for more than 14 hours before unanimously convicting the pair. The first trial in 2023 ended without a verdict on manslaughter but did result in convictions for child cruelty, concealing a birth, and perverting the course of justice.

Marten’s legal team is reportedly preparing to argue that jurors may have been prejudiced after she inadvertently told the court that Gordon was a convicted rapist, nearly collapsing the retrial. They claim the trial judge failed to issue an immediate warning to disregard the comment.

Gordon has also vowed to appeal, branding the verdict “faulty” and “unlawful”.

Baby Victoria’s death

The couple went on the run with their baby in January 2023, fearing she would be taken into care. They evaded authorities for almost seven weeks, moving between London, East Sussex, and rural campsites.

They were arrested in Brighton on February 27, 2023. Shortly afterwards, police discovered baby Victoria’s remains inside a Lidl bag in a disused shed.

Her body was too decomposed to determine a cause of death, but prosecutors argued she either died from hypothermia or was smothered while sharing a sleeping bag with her parents in freezing conditions.

The defence claimed Victoria’s death was a tragic accident after Marten fell asleep on her.

Gordon’s history

During legal arguments it emerged that jurors were not told the full extent of Gordon’s violent past.

• In 1989, at age 14, he raped a woman at knifepoint in Florida and committed aggravated battery within a month. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison and served 22 before being released.

• In 2017, Gordon was convicted of assaulting two police officers at a Welsh maternity unit.

• In 2019, he was suspected of domestic violence that left Marten with a shattered spleen while she was pregnant.

The family court subsequently removed the couple’s other children from their care.

Next steps

Both Marten and Gordon remain in custody awaiting sentencing. The Court of Appeal will now consider whether to grant permission for their appeals to proceed.