Jury in Constance Marten case discharged after failing to reach verdicts over baby death
Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon were on trial after their daughter was found dead in an allotment in Brighton last March.
The jury in the trial of aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon over the death of their newborn baby has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts.
Ms Marten, 37, and Mr Gordon, 50, began their trial at the Old Bailey in January after their daughter Victoria was found dead at an allotment in Brighton, East Sussex, in March 2023.
There was a huge police search for the missing baby which ended in the couple's arrests in Brighton, with the tot found days later.
The couple were each charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, causing or allowing the death of a child, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and perverting the course of justice.
The pair denied all counts and went on trial at the Old Bailey on January 25.
Jurors started their deliberations on April 30 and on Wednesday (June 19) they were discharged after more than 72 hours.
Ms Marten and Mr Gordon may now face a retrial.
News of the discharging of the jury comes after Judge Mark Lucraft KC gave the 10-strong jury a majority direction on June 3, saying he would accept verdicts on which nine of them were agreed.