[arista]

[Old Bailey jury has been discharged
in the case of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
after being unable to reach verdicts.

Ms Marten, 37, and Mr Gordon, 50,
denied manslaughter by gross negligence
of their newborn baby Victoria,
whose body was found inside
a shopping bag in a shed in
Brighton on 1 March 2023.

The jury heard pathologists had
been unable to establish how Victoria
had died because her body was so
badly decomposed.

The prosecution will now have
to consider whether to seek a retrial.

The trial began almost five months ago on
25 January and the jury of five women and
five men spent 72 hours and 33
minutes deliberating.

On Wednesday, the Judge Mark Lucraft KC thanked
jurors for their "extraordinary" public service
and the "dedication" they have shown in the case.

The judge said he was conscious the
jurors had put their lives on hold for the trial
and excused them from jury service for
the rest of their lives.

A high-risk missing persons manhunt had been
launched for the couple and their baby on
5 January 2023, after a car they had been
travelling in was discovered on fire on
the M61 near Bolton.

The couple were eventually found in
Brighton on 27 February 2023,
two days before Victoria's body was discovered.

As well as denying the charge of
manslaughter by gross negligence,
the couple denied four other charges:
concealment of the baby's birth;
child cruelty;
causing or allowing her death;
and perverting the course of
justice by concealing the body.]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq55x87nqnzo