Aristocrat and partner may face retrial as jury fails to reach baby death verdicts

AN aristocrat and her boyfriend accused of killing their baby were last night facing the prospect of a retrial - after the jury in their five month trial failed to reach verdicts.

- Paul Jeeves

Constance Marten, 37, and Mark Gordon, 50, were accused of causing the death of their fifth child, Victoria, after they went on the run in a bid to prevent her from being taken into care.

Marten had given birth to the tot in secret after the couple's previous four children were removed from them by social workers.

During a nationwide manhunt, police discovered a placenta in the pair's car, which they abandoned when it burst into flames near Bolton, Gtr Manchester, on January 5 last year.

Camping

The pair then travelled across the country with baby Victoria, spending thousands of pounds from Marten's trust fund on taxis, before resorting to camping in a tent in sub-zero temperatures on the exposed South Downs.