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

[Skigh]

Constance Marten's lover accused of killing baby refuses court hearing

Mark Gordon, 49, was due to appear before Bromley Magistrates' Court to face a charge a charge of failing to comply with the register's notification requirements.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The partner of an aristocrat accused of the manslaughter of their newborn baby refused to appear in court today.

Mark Gordon, 49, who was due to appear to face a charge a charge of failing to comply with notification requirements of the Sex Offenders' Register, claimed to be suffering extreme back and neck pain.


District Judge Vanessa Lloyd said she believed Gordon was using his pain as a 'mechanism' not to delay the hearing of his case.

She said: 'He refused [to attend court] last week. He will keep refusing because they can't compel him to come.

'He's using this as a mechanism. We are not going to see him today. I have a message from the prison that says he's refusing because he's in too much pain. We will have to adjourn again.'

The Judge said Gordon was waiting to be seen by a doctor for his 'extreme' back and neck pain.


She added that the Met wanted the charge dealt with before January 22, when Gordon's trial alongside aristocrat partner Constance Marten, 37, is due to begin at the Old Bailey.

PC Trill said: '[Gordon's] trial starts on January 22. We are very keen for this to be over, so the sooner the better.'

Asked by PC Trill about what would happen should Gordon continue to refuse to attend court, DJ Lloyd replied that it was up to prison officers at HMP Belmarsh whether to use 'reasonable force' to make him attend.

'All we can do is keep trying,' she told PC Trill. 'They did have a warrant, they did send a van. He won't go to a video hearing, either.

'It's a matter for the prison to decide whether to use reasonable force - but I can't order them to use anything more than that, and they won't, because they're putting their staff at risk.

 

[Alyce]

From Skigh’s link above - seems it’s been put back yet another week, now starting January 22

 

[CaptainNancy]

Really, it depends on the trust and what costs that trust will cover. Usually they are set up for living costs and education.

Yes, both will get a KC, but this will be publicly funded. It could be that she will retains the same KC, but will change to a firm of solicitors that take legal aid cases. Not all legal firms take legal aid cases, but I do not think that the same rules apply to barristers. You need a legal firm to instruct a barrister (usually).

I always thought that the money was on the fathers side - but for all we know, it could have been the step-father (who is also wealthy) who was funding the defence.

A barrister yes, but surely not necessarily a KC?

 

[Nikynoo]

A barrister yes, but surely not necessarily a KC?

The charge is quite serious though isn't it, and also complex? Why not a KC?

 

[CaptainNancy]

The charge is quite serious though isn't it, and also complex? Why not a KC?

No particular reason why not a KC, except cost, I was just pointing out that though they will have a barrister that barrister may or may not be a KC. Experienced criminal law barristers act in serious / complex cases all the time - I watched one in action at the Old Bailey last autumn.

 

[rightsaidfred]

Fascinatingly, just before the trial is due to start, a documentary comes out about the cult CM was a member of and the abuse members suffered

BBC News - TB Joshua: ‘We thought it was heaven but then terrible things happened’

TB Joshua: ‘We thought it was heaven but then terrible things happened’

Rae was 21 when she became a charismatic Nigerian preacher’s disciple - and suffered years of abuse.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[kittythehare]

Fascinatingly, just before the trial is due to start, a documentary comes out about the cult CM was a member of and the abuse members suffered

BBC News - TB Joshua: ‘We thought it was heaven but then terrible things happened’

TB Joshua: ‘We thought it was heaven but then terrible things happened’

Rae was 21 when she became a charismatic Nigerian preacher’s disciple - and suffered years of abuse.

www.bbc.co.uk

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[JTT]

Constance Marten's lover accused of killing baby refuses court hearing

Mark Gordon, 49, was due to appear before Bromley Magistrates' Court to face a charge a charge of failing to comply with the register's notification requirements.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The partner of an aristocrat accused of the manslaughter of their newborn baby refused to appear in court today.

Mark Gordon, 49, who was due to appear to face a charge a charge of failing to comply with notification requirements of the Sex Offenders' Register, claimed to be suffering extreme back and neck pain.


District Judge Vanessa Lloyd said she believed Gordon was using his pain as a 'mechanism' not to delay the hearing of his case.

She said: 'He refused [to attend court] last week. He will keep refusing because they can't compel him to come.

'He's using this as a mechanism. We are not going to see him today. I have a message from the prison that says he's refusing because he's in too much pain. We will have to adjourn again.'

The Judge said Gordon was waiting to be seen by a doctor for his 'extreme' back and neck pain.


She added that the Met wanted the charge dealt with before January 22, when Gordon's trial alongside aristocrat partner Constance Marten, 37, is due to begin at the Old Bailey.

PC Trill said: '[Gordon's] trial starts on January 22. We are very keen for this to be over, so the sooner the better.'

Asked by PC Trill about what would happen should Gordon continue to refuse to attend court, DJ Lloyd replied that it was up to prison officers at HMP Belmarsh whether to use 'reasonable force' to make him attend.

'All we can do is keep trying,' she told PC Trill. 'They did have a warrant, they did send a van. He won't go to a video hearing, either.

'It's a matter for the prison to decide whether to use reasonable force - but I can't order them to use anything more than that, and they won't, because they're putting their staff at risk.

1) Bromley magistrates' court hearing

There's also this report in the Argus:

Constance Marten’s partner Mark Gordon refuses to appear in court

The partner of an aristocrat accused of the manslaughter of their baby refused to appear in court.

www.theargus.co.uk

"Gordon, who had appealed to have a previous hearing adjourned in order to be legally represented in court, was said to have complained of back and neck pain and requested to see a doctor." [BBM]

From the Daily Mail:

"The Judge said Gordon was waiting to be seen by a doctor for his 'extreme' back and neck pain." [BBM]

Police constable [sic] Rhianne Trill:

“We are very keen for this to be over, so the sooner the better.”

Well if he had been examined by a medic as per his request it would have been known whether he was fit to attend court or not.

Moreover it is remarkable that the registered sex offender notification violation case is being brought to court at such a late date. Why was it not brought earlier? And is there any indication of what MG's plea might be? Anyway the jurors at the OB trial for child cruelty, etc. must try those charges on the evidence before them.

2) Old Bailey trial

Have there been any reports regarding what appears to have been an adjournment (of the Old Bailey trial, not the sex offender registration case in Bromley magistrates' court) from 15 Jan to 22 Jan?

First at the OB the adjournment was from 2 Jan to 15 Jan:

Delay for trial of parents whose dead baby was found in Brighton

The trial of a couple accused of the manslaughter of their baby was due to begin today (Tuesday 2 January)

www.brightonandhovenews.org

3) Alleged sex offender rules violation

During the hunt that involved hundreds of officers, the police said they didn't want either CM or MG for any offences, didn't want to disrupt their family life, and just wanted to check the baby was all right.

How the 54-day hunt for missing aristocrat Constance Marten and her sex offender partner unfolded

Has the missing baby been found yet? How long were they on the run for? Here's the full timeline of events following Constance Marten and Mark Gordon life on the run.

www.lbc.co.uk

Why didn't they say they wanted him for violating requirements imposed on him as a registered sex offender?

4) Date of death

During the couple's detention, before there had been a postmortem, and before they had been charged with committing any offences, the police told the media they believed the baby had been dead for several weeks.

Missing baby ‘dead for several weeks’ before discovery, say police

The remains were found on Wednesday in an area of woodland in Brighton

www.standard.co.uk

At the Old Bailey trial it will be interesting to see what the prosecution will assert regarding when Victoria died. If they cannot prove that it was definitely, without a smidgen of doubt, prior to the couple's detention, there may be problems leaving all the current charges on the indictment.

Let us hope MG is in good enough health to attend trial on 22 January.

 

[JTT]

Fascinatingly, just before the trial is due to start, a documentary comes out about the cult CM was a member of and the abuse members suffered

BBC News - TB Joshua: ‘We thought it was heaven but then terrible things happened’

TB Joshua: ‘We thought it was heaven but then terrible things happened’

Rae was 21 when she became a charismatic Nigerian preacher’s disciple - and suffered years of abuse.

www.bbc.co.uk

Potential jurors who read this headline in the Daily Mail may have difficulty putting it out of their minds...but that is what they should do if they are try the case on the evidence brought before them in court, as they must.

Survivors of Christian cult reveal harrowing sexual and physical abuse

Temitope Balogun Joshua, known as TB Joshua, founded an evangelical Christian church called the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in 1987.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Edit: the headline on the link to this DM article from Google News is showing as "British survivors of Christian cult joined by Constance Marten reveal harrowing details of sexual and physical". (BBM). And then there's a cut-off because of the number of words.

 

[Telltale]

3) Alleged sex offender rules violation

During the hunt that involved hundreds of officers, the police said they didn't want either CM or MG for any offences, didn't want to disrupt their family life, and just wanted to check the baby was all right.

Why didn't they say they wanted him for violating requirements imposed on him as a registered sex offender?

4) Date of death

During the couple's detention, before there had been a postmortem, and before they had been charged with committing any offences, the police told the media they believed the baby had been dead for several weeks.


At the Old Bailey trial it will be interesting to see what the prosecution will assert regarding when Victoria died. If they cannot prove that it was definitely, without a smidgen of doubt, prior to the couple's detention, there may be problems leaving all the current charges on the indictment.

Let us hope MG is in good enough health to attend trial on 22 January.

For 3) I think they were very worried it could end with a murder/suicide if they gave them no hope of a way out. The two of them had (probably) lost a couple of kids to the system already and were dragging around a fragile newborn rather than accept medical care. Considering Gordon's history of violence and the very strange dynamic those two had, it wouldn't have been a surprising end.

As for 4) I think they found the baby on the 3rd day after the pair was arrested? If they said weeks to the press right off the bat, I'd guess her body was pretty degraded already. A good amount more than you'd see after a couple of days in an unheated shed in February.

 

[iamshadow21]

For 3) I think they were very worried it could end with a murder/suicide if they gave them no hope of a way out. The two of them had (probably) lost a couple of kids to the system already and were dragging around a fragile newborn rather than accept medical care. Considering Gordon's history of violence and the very strange dynamic those two had, it wouldn't have been a surprising end.

As for 4) I think they found the baby on the 3rd day after the pair was arrested? If they said weeks to the press right off the bat, I'd guess her body was pretty degraded already. A good amount more than you'd see after a couple of days in an unheated shed in February.

Middle of winter, but so decomposed they couldn't tell biological sex without testing her chromosomes? I think she was dead for probably a month at least. If the temps were near or at freezing, she would have decomposed slowly. So for it to be that far along, especially as she was in a shed, covered, protected from the raw harshness of the elements and animal predation? In my opinion, she had been deceased for a long time.

MOO

 

[JTT]

As for 4) I think they found the baby on the 3rd day after the pair was arrested? If they said weeks to the press right off the bat, I'd guess her body was pretty degraded already. A good amount more than you'd see after a couple of days in an unheated shed in February.

Yes indeed. Not clear why the police should say it to the press, though, especially while holding two as yet uncharged suspects. Once they have enough evidence to charge a person, they are supposed to charge them without delay. At the back of my mind is the possibility that there was a last day on which CM and MG were witnessed with Victoria, say X days before the arrests, and on that day she didn't die but for a number of days whichever of them went out for supplies left her with the other one, or perhaps sometimes they both went out together, for example to the foodbank, and left her alone. (Leaving her with somebody else may be less likely, because that person could have got their supplies, meaning that they didn't have to go out. Then again, CM may have thought it was a necessity for MG given his alleged mental condition to get out of the house sometimes, with her to look after him and not on his own.) This is all speculation only. But the crown must prove its case, and I reckon they will need solid forensics on time of death and probably also cause of death. Six weeks have been pencilled in for the trial IIRC.

Last, the trust fund angle may be a red herring regard to the end of CM's previous legal representation. One thing that defendants who represent themselves are allowed to do in front of a jury that barristers and solicitors aren't is to tell them about offers of a plea bargain.

 

[JTT]

Middle of winter, but so decomposed they couldn't tell biological sex without testing her chromosomes? She was dead for probably a month at least. If the temps were near or at freezing, she would have decomposed slowly. So for it to be that far along, especially as she was in a shed, covered, protected from the raw harshness of the elements and animal predation? She had been deceased for a long time.

MOO

Lots of assumptions there. But we will see what forensics are adduced in court.

 

[iamshadow21]

Lots of assumptions there. But we will see what forensics are adduced in court.

I have made it clearer in my comment that this is my opinion only, not an expert assessment.

 

[Telltale]

Yes indeed. Not clear why the police should say it to the press, though, especially while holding two as yet uncharged suspects. Once they have enough evidence to charge a person, they are supposed to charge them without delay. At the back of my mind is the possibility that there was a last day on which CM and MG were witnessed with Victoria, say X days before the arrests, and on that day she didn't die but for a number of days whichever of them went out for supplies left her with the other one, or perhaps sometimes they both went out together, for example to the foodbank, and left her alone. (Leaving her with somebody else may be less likely, because that person could have got their supplies, meaning that they didn't have to go out. Then again, CM may have thought it was a necessity for MG given his alleged mental condition to get out of the house sometimes, with her to look after him and not on his own.) This is all speculation only. But the crown must prove its case, and I reckon they will need solid forensics on time of death and probably also cause of death. Six weeks have been pencilled in for the trial IIRC.

Last, the trust fund angle may be a red herring regard to the end of CM's previous legal representation. One thing that defendants who represent themselves are allowed to do in front of a jury that barristers and solicitors aren't is to tell them about offers of a plea bargain.

Probably because they wanted to make it clear there had been no saving the baby.

Those three days of searching were emotionally and physically brutal for everyone involved because the nightmare scenario was: the baby was tucked away somewhere alive and they just didn't find her in time.


Thinking back I remember the time those two were camping out was a hard freeze. Coldest it had been all year. Police/doctors were probably confident because the weather meant they might as well have kept her in the fridge.

 

[kittythehare]

That cult is a lot more hardcore than I had imagined..
I remember finding her Twitter account and the only post was an attempt to acquire funding or witnesses to the Reverand's activities.
I cannot recall how long ago that was or even if her twtr account is still up there..
it shows she was fighting back but i can't imagine how damaged she was by it and possibly still is..
I watched all 3 episodes on U tube last night.
it truly was a horror story...

 

[Alyce]

www.courtserve.net



Bromley Magistrates' Court
10 January 2024

GORDON, Mark

01RG1007723

Courtroom 03

10:00

 

[JTT]

..or so it appears.. ...:thinking:

Thinking what?

A sectioning for MG and a plea bargain with sentencing to no more than time already served for CM? If I had to guess I would say no, there won't be a falling out between the defendants, and there won't be a successful plea bargain either, and that all pleas will stay at NG. But the cruelty charge may be dropped without the defence conceding anything. All depends on what evidence there is for it. I guess the same can also be said about manslaughter. Police and CPS vs SS? But goodness knows what's going on with MG. If he wants a medic to examine him and verify he's in severe pain, he should be given one. This is all total utter speculation and nothing but. MOO.

 

[wizardizzo76]

No particular reason why not a KC, except cost, I was just pointing out that though they will have a barrister that barrister may or may not be a KC. Experienced criminal law barristers act in serious / complex cases all the time - I watched one in action at the Old Bailey last autumn.

I had a qc for a child custody hearing on legal aid

 

[kittythehare]

Thinking what?

A sectioning for MG and a plea bargain with sentencing to no more than time already served for CM? If I had to guess I would say no, there won't be a falling out between the defendants, and there won't be a successful plea bargain either, and that all pleas will stay at NG. But the cruelty charge may be dropped without the defence conceding anything. All depends on what evidence there is for it. I guess the same can also be said about manslaughter. Police and CPS vs SS? But goodness knows what's going on with MG. If he wants a medic to examine him and verify he's in severe pain, he should be given one. This is all total utter speculation and nothing but. MOO.

Thinking?
that is my signature.
The rest of the post which you edited out is a link to the 3 U tube programmes on the cult as the BBC is not available worldwide but U tube is...