UK - Constance Marten & Mark Gordon charged, Newborn (found deceased), Bolton Greater Manchester, 5 Jan 2023 #4

[Marie Bell]

Immanuel|Paperback

At what point does faith turn into tyranny? In Immanuel, winner of the inaugural Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize, Matthew McNaught explores his upbringing in an evangelical Christian community in Winchester. As he moved away from the faith of his childhood in the early 2000s, a group...

www.barnesandnoble.com

''At what point does faith turn into tyranny? In Immanuel, winner of the inaugural Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize, Matthew McNaught explores his upbringing in an evangelical Christian community in Winchester. As he moved away from the faith of his childhood in the early 2000s, a group of his church friends were pursuing it to its more radical fringes. They moved to Nigeria to join a community of international disciples serving TB Joshua, a charismatic millionaire pastor whose purported gifts of healing and prophecy attracted vast crowds to his Lagos ministry, the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). Years later, a number of these friends left SCOAN with accounts of violence, sexual abuse, sleep deprivation and public shaming.

In reconnecting with his old friends, McNaught realized that their journey into this cult-like community was directly connected to the teachings and tendencies of the church of their childhood. Yet speaking to them awakened a yearning for this church that, despite everything, he couldn’t shake off. Was the church’s descent into hubris and division separable from the fellowship and mutual sustenance of its early years? Was it possible to find community and connection without dogma and tribalism? Blending essay, memoir and reportage, Immanuel is an exceptional debut about community, doubt, and the place of faith in the twenty-first century.''

This book is on Amazon and there is a 'look inside' excerpt. Worth reading, as the author talks about the varied assortments of young people from the UK who went over there, in the same way that CM presumably did.
I'm gettting the impression that, although the Nigerian episode may well have messed her up quite a bit in itself, she has possibly alway had a tendency to 'waywardness' and that periods of stability have tended not to last too long. Her family/home situation seems to have been far from ideal too; with her father having acted strangely, to say the least.

 

[JTT]

It will be Crown Court, yes, the case has been referred to the Central Criminal Court aka the Old Bailey.

No indication of timescale. The first hearing on March 31st will be case management, not the actual trial. Though they might set a trial date at that hearing. It is not unusual for trials to be scheduled for a year ahead.

IME defendants often appear at these initial hearings by video.

There may well be a bail hearing before 31 March.
Bear in mind that the postmortem has yet to establish the cause of death, and further examination has been instructed.

 

[JennieM]

There may well be a bail hearing before 31 March.
Bear in mind that the postmortem has yet to establish the cause of death, and further examination has been instructed.

When was that reported JTT?

 

[QB2022]

When was that reported JTT?

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon in court charged with manslaughter of baby girl as post-mortem unable to establish cause of death

The body of the child, named Victoria, was found wrapped in a plastic bag under some nappies in an unlocked shed near to where Constance Marten and Mark Gordon had been camping on an overgrown allotment plot in Brighton, Crawley Magistrates' Court was told.

www.google.com

 

[JTT]

Just some comments on that shed in the photos and what it would be like to live there. (Note: I have read the newspapers but I have no idea whether anyone involved in this case lived there or not.)

There will be no electricity mains...but that's not so important.
Heating is important. Gas would be the way - a small bottle gas heater. If it gets really freezing or there are draughts or the heater isn't powerful enough, line the walls with duvets. (That's what's often done in yurts using fleece. Great insulator.) Or rags in bags.
Water is important. The water supply will be from a standpipe that possibly serves quite a large number of allotments. Get some big containers.
Bodily waste is important. There's a wood bordering on to the plot. That's the toilet.
Personal hygiene? Hair can be washed in supermarkets - just be quick about it. For washing your body, heat water and go to the wood. It won't be great but it's better than nothing.

 

[JTT]

On CM's Instagram page, her comment on the photo of her friend making a gesture with her hands at the outside table in the restaurant or bar: "A birthtail". That could be a cetacean reference.

 

[dotr]

We know a bit about CM and her father's earlier life experiences, but little about what may have shaped MG prior to the age of 14, fwiw..

TOM RAWSTORNE: Chance spotting of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon

TOM RAWSTORNE: The massive police hunt ended in the way it had begun - with two people, not three. From the beginning of the investigation, the welfare of the child was the main focus of police.

www.dailymail.co.uk

''Gordon, by contrast, was raised in Birmingham, the youngest of seven children born to nurse Sylvia, who came to Britain from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation. When Gordon was 11, the family moved to America.
‘My mum bought a house in Hollywood, Florida, and everything was good and we thought we were going to have a great life there,’ Gordon’s 52-year-old sister, who asked not to be named, told the Mail.''

<modsnip>

 

[JTT]

A KC is not going around digging up an old ex and getting them to go to the Sun with a rehash of information that's already in the public domain and has been for weeks.

To what end would a KC do that - hoping that the jury will hear this at some point prior to jury selection and they'll be lenient? Sounds like jury tampering to me.

This is just an ex who has realised he can make a bit of money by selling his story to a tabloid.

Yes, agreed.

It wouldn't have great influence on a jury anyway. If this case gets to trial, the judge will tell the jury right at the start to disregard everything they've read and that they must try the case ONLY on evidence they hear in court. IMO that advice usually gets heeded because jurors try to do a good job and besides there's a kind of exclusive feel to being able to decide on the basis of important stuff that goes on in a ritualised environment in an important room, where 12 people have an extra-special role, rather than going by what millions of people have read in the media.

Besides, most of the hours the KC puts in right now will probably be focused on getting his client bail.

 

[bladeaok]

On CM's Instagram page, her comment on the photo of her friend making a gesture with her hands at the outside table in the restaurant or bar: "A birthtail". That could be a cetacean reference.

What's her Instagram screename?

 

[JTT]

What's her Instagram screename?

@toots_marten_

 

[JTT]

What's her Instagram screename?

@toots_marten_

 

[JTT]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

The big test for being a cult or not is how easy it is for a member to leave. Scientology is a cult.

There are many religious groups in the world that claim to heal people and aren't cults, because it's easy to leave them (or perhaps they don't work on a membership basis in the first place) and they don't want total control over people's lives and relationships and money.

E.g. in Brazil there is Spiritism associated with names including Allan Kardec and Chico Xavier. I wouldn't call it a cult.

 

[Meeky]

What a lovely gesture

Brighton funeral director offers memorial for Constance Marten's baby

Victoria's death sent shockwaves through the East Sussex community with locals attending a vigil close to where her remains were found.

www.express.co.uk

 

[Cherwell]

On CM's Instagram page, her comment on the photo of her friend making a gesture with her hands at the outside table in the restaurant or bar: "A birthtail". That could be a cetacean reference.

I think it has to do with birthday, as she is wishing her a happy birthday.

<modsnip: Quoted/referenced post was removed>

 

[jackal67]

What a lovely gesture

Brighton funeral director offers memorial for Constance Marten's baby

Victoria's death sent shockwaves through the East Sussex community with locals attending a vigil close to where her remains were found.

www.express.co.uk

Surely the Funeral will be private and organized by the Family?

 

[Meeky]

Surely the Funeral will be private and organized by the Family?

You would hope so but in this case, who knows

 

[Bibno]

Surely the Funeral will be private and organized by the Family?

A memorial is different from a funeral.

 

[Cherwell]

Surely the Funeral will be private and organized by the Family?

They are offering to provide the funeral free of charge. It doesn't mean the family would have no input.

A memorial is different from a funeral.

They are talking about the funeral.

"Harry Newington, the owner of H J Newington Independent Funeral Directors, has offered to cover the costs of the baby's funeral."

 

[rightsaidfred]

Surely the Funeral will be private and organized by the Family?

I suppose that's one way to meet your daughter's partner's family.

Might be a bit awkward...

I wonder if CM and MG will be allowed to attend the funeral. They'll still be on remand and so innocent until proven guilty, but it may not pass the undefined "decency" test referenced here

Leave to visit dying relatives or attend a funeral

One of the greatest hardships being in prison is missing out on significant family moments, and the most difficult of these can be the passing and funeral of a loved one. We receive occasional cont…

insidetime.org

 

[sunnynz]

DBM. In hindsight, insensitive.