Crime

Carmarthen link to baby manslaughter case: Couple camped on wasteland behind Tesco

Published

5 months ago

July 14, 2025

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon once lived rough by Five Fields Allotments before baby’s tragic death in Brighton

A COUPLE found guilty of killing their newborn baby daughter had earlier lived off-grid in Carmarthen, camping on wasteland behind Tesco and alongside Five Fields Allotments, it has emerged.

Constance Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 51, were convicted on Monday (July 14) at the Old Bailey of gross negligence manslaughter, following the death of their daughter Victoria, who was born in secret and died during the couple’s attempt to avoid authorities.

Their case—one of the most disturbing and disruptive to pass through the family court and criminal justice system in recent years—has a previously unreported local connection.

‘LIVING IN HIDING BEHIND TESCO’

***Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were living on rough land behind Tesco in Carmarthen in 2017*** ***(Pic File)***

According to court papers obtained by the BBC, the couple fled London in 2017 after Marten became pregnant. After a missing persons alert was issued, Marten later surfaced at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, giving staff a false name and Irish accent. Gordon was arrested at the hospital following a violent struggle with police.

What wasn’t known until now is that the couple had been camping on wasteland behind Tesco on Picton Terrace (SA31 3NW), adjacent to Five Fields Allotments — a site operated by Carmarthen Town Council. Residents at the time noted the couple pushing a buggy and emerging from the overgrown scrubland near the allotments.

One witness told The Herald: “They were staying back there, right on the rough ground past Tesco. It’s not the sort of place you’d expect to see a pregnant woman sleeping rough.”

This is now understood to be the first known instance of the couple camping in secret to avoid social services.

Their presence in Carmarthen came to an abrupt end when Marten, using the false name Isabella O’Brien and speaking with an Irish accent, arrived at Glangwili Hospital while four months pregnant. Staff, suspicious of her story and aware of a national missing person alert from London, alerted Dyfed-Powys Police. Officers attended the hospital, where Mark Gordon became violent, assaulting two female officers before being arrested. He was later sentenced to 20 weeks in prison for the attack.

***Constance Marten pictured with one of her children (Image: Police)***

FROM CARMARTHEN TO THE SOUTH DOWNS

After the Carmarthen arrest, the couple were placed under monitoring, but later moved to London. Over the following five years:

All four of their children were removed into care.

Marten and Gordon repeatedly refused antenatal care, missed court hearings, and fled abroad to Ireland and South America.

In one incident, Marten fell from a first-floor window while pregnant. A judge later found it likely Gordon had caused the fall.

In late 2022, Marten became pregnant again. They once more vanished—this time setting up a small tent on the South Downs, living in freezing conditions through January 2023. Victoria was born into those conditions and died within weeks.

The couple were arrested in Brighton on 27 February 2023, and the next day, police found Victoria’s decomposing body in a bag at the Roedale Valley Allotments.

***Moment of arrest, Constance Marten*** (Image:

***Police search Roedale Valley Allotments, Brighton for the missing infant on 28 February 2023, the day after the couple’s arrest*** **(Image: PA)**

GUILTY OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE

On Monday, after a lengthy and chaotic retrial, both were found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter, child cruelty, concealing a birth, and perverting the course of justice.

Marten and Gordon showed no remorse and were repeatedly disruptive throughout proceedings. They are due to be sentenced in September.

This week’s conviction has gripped national headlines, but the story began much closer to home.

The Five Fields Allotments in Carmarthen—normally a place of quiet cultivation—was, for a brief and troubling time, part of a chain of events that would end in the death of a child and one of the most tragic family court cases in recent memory.

From heiress to homicide: The downfall of Constance Marten

How a daughter of privilege fled her family, fell in with a convicted rapist, and ended up convicted of her baby’s manslaughter

WHENpolice in Brighton unzipped a Lidl bag for life in an abandoned shed and found the decomposed body of baby Victoria beneath layers of rubbish, it marked the devastating end of a 53-day manhunt. But it also marked the final act in a far longer, stranger fall from grace — that of Constance Marten, once a Tatler debutante and daughter of a millionaire aristocrat.

Now convicted of gross negligence manslaughter alongside her partner Mark Gordon, Marten’s story is a haunting blend of privilege, paranoia, and deep mistrust of the authorities — culminating in a decision to go off-grid in the middle of winter, with no plan and no protection for their newborn child.

High society to hiding in a tent

Marten grew up at Crichel House in Dorset — a £100 million estate with eight dining rooms and sweeping parkland. In 2008, she appeared in Tatler magazine. She studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at Leeds, spent a year in Cairo, worked briefly in journalism and drama, and travelled widely.

But in 2014, she met Mark Gordon — a man 13 years her senior and a convicted rapist who had served 22 years in a US prison for a brutal sexual assault committed when he was just 14. The two became inseparable, eventually holding a non-legally recognised wedding ceremony in Peru.

Friends say her behaviour changed drastically after meeting Gordon. She cut ties with her aristocratic family and eventually became convinced she was being watched by private investigators hired by them — something her father Napier Marten denies.

Life on the run — and in Carmarthen

One of the earliest examples of their attempts to evade authorities came in Carmarthen in 2017. Constance, then pregnant, gave a false name and Irish accent at Glangwili Hospital. The couple had been living in a tent on wasteland behind Tesco and alongside Five Fields Allotments, where local residents now recall seeing them. Police were called, and Gordon was arrested after a struggle.

That encounter in Carmarthen was the first sign of a pattern that would escalate. Over the next five years, they had four children removed from their care, skipped medical appointments, moved from place to place, and refused help.

In 2019, Marten fell from a first-floor window while pregnant — a judge later ruled that Gordon likely caused the fall. Still, the couple stayed together, increasingly paranoid and mistrustful of social workers.

The final tragedy: Victoria

When Marten became pregnant again in 2022, they fled. Their car was later found burned out on the M61 near Bolton, placenta inside. From there, they travelled across the country with the baby, Victoria, born in secret at a Northumberland cottage.

By 8 January 2023, they had pitched a tent in the South Downs — with no heating, barely any food, and freezing weather. Victoria died just days later. Instead of calling for help, the couple carried her body in a plastic bag for weeks before abandoning it in an allotment shed.

They were arrested on 27 February 2023 in Brighton. Two days later, Victoria’s body was found.

Now awaiting sentence

Throughout their trials, both Marten and Gordon disrupted proceedings, sacked lawyers, and derailed hearings. Gordon represented himself. Marten called the prosecutor “heartless.” Yet, the jury unanimously found them guilty.

They now face life sentences.

Crime

Man spared jail after baseball bat incident in Milford Haven

Published

14 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Court Reporter

Judge says offence was so serious only a prison sentence was justified

A 44-YEAR-OLD has been given a suspended prison sentence after admitting carrying a baseball bat in a public place during an incident in Milford Haven.

Ian Parker, of Cwrt Garreg, Cefn Glas, Bridgend, appeared for sentence at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Dec 9).

The court heard that on Tuesday (Oct 29), Parker travelled to Prioryville, Milford Haven, where he was found in possession of an offensive weapon — a baseball bat — without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.

Earlier hearings were told that Parker believed his son was at risk and had travelled from Bridgend to Milford Haven. During the incident, another man was struck with the bat before Parker left the scene. Parker later admitted the offence and entered a guilty plea on November 18, with sentencing adjourned for a pre-sentence report.

Passing sentence, District Judge M Layton said the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified.

Parker was sentenced to 36 weeks’ imprisonment, but the sentence was suspended for 24 months after the court accepted there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

He will be subject to 24 months of supervision and must complete 200 hours of unpaid work within 12 months. The court also imposed a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 25 days, requiring Parker to attend appointments and take part in activities as directed by probation services.

The baseball bat was ordered to be forfeited and destroyed under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953.

Parker was also ordered to pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £187 surcharge, to be paid in full within 28 days.

The judge warned that any breach of the suspended sentence order could result in the prison term being activated.

Crime

Rogue roofing traders had millions pass through accounts, court told

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Sentencing delayed as judge considers scale of long-running Pembrokeshire scam

A PAIR of rogue Pembrokeshire traders had more than £2.7 million pass through their bank accounts while operating what a judge described as a sophisticated fraudulent roofing business.

Thomas James, aged 38, and Jim Janes, aged 55, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday (Dec 12) in connection with a Narberth-based roofing scam which spanned several years.

The court heard that over a five-year period the men ran a business which prosecutors said was fundamentally dishonest, with more than £500,000 believed to have been taken from customers through fraudulent work.

In remarks made during the hearing, the judge said the case went beyond dishonest trading, describing the defendants as builders who were not only dishonest but also incapable of carrying out the work they claimed to offer.

Expert evidence presented to the court showed the pair were unable to deliver the standard of work promised, with no credible evidence of satisfied customers. Large sums of money were seen flowing through their accounts, which the judge said demonstrated unlawful trading rather than legitimate business activity.

“This was not a case of people trying and failing to run an honest business,” the judge said. “It was a sophisticated operation set up to defraud customers.”

It was agreed that more than £500,000 had been generated from dishonest elements of the work carried out.

In mitigation, defence counsel said there had been some legitimate trading and that personal circumstances had contributed to a decline in standards. The court was told that not every job undertaken was fraudulent and that both men had accepted responsibility.

However, the judge raised concerns about how best to sentence the defendants given there are two separate indictments relating to the proceeds of the scam. Apologising to victims, the judge said the case could not be concluded on the day.

Sentencing was adjourned to Wednesday (Dec 17) at 2:00pm.

The Pembrokeshire Herald has been following this case for several months. It has been before the courts on several occasions this year.

At an earlier hearing at Swansea Crown Court in August, the court was told that the investigation into James and Janes had identified dozens of alleged victims across Pembrokeshire and west Wales.

Prosecutors said homeowners were persuaded to pay large sums upfront for roofing and construction work which was either left incomplete or carried out to a dangerously poor standard, in some cases leaving properties damaged.

During those proceedings, it was alleged that around forty victims had already been identified, with investigators warning the true number could be significantly higher as enquiries continued.

A separate but linked case could bring the total number of alleged victims to 140, making this the largest case of its type in Wales.

The prosecutions have been led by National Trading Standards Investigations Team (Wales) based at Newport City Council

The court previously heard that the men had handled criminal proceeds running into tens of thousands of pounds and that further victims could yet come forward.

The Herald understands that the scale of the operation, the movement of money through multiple accounts, and the long duration of the offending are all factors being considered ahead of sentencing later this month.

Crime

Rural cannabis factory exposed after five-year operation in Carmarthenshire

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Family-run drugs enterprise brought in millions before police raid during lockdown

A FAMILY who relocated from England to a remote Carmarthenshire farm ran a highly organised cannabis production operation worth millions of pounds before it was uncovered by police.

Edward McCann, aged 66, his wife Linda, aged 63, and their son Daniel, aged 41, were jailed after admitting their roles in what prosecutors described as one of the most sophisticated cannabis factories ever uncovered in Wales.

***The court heard that the McCann family made over £3.5m over five years***

The operation was based at Blaenllain Farm, near Whitland, where the family had moved from Portsmouth. Although the property appeared to be an ordinary agricultural holding, locals became suspicious after extensive security fencing, CCTV systems and a lack of any livestock raised questions.

Police eventually raided the site during the Covid lockdown in October 2020, discovering a large-scale drugs factory operating from a converted barn.

Inside, officers found six purpose-built growing rooms containing cannabis plants at different stages of development. Upstairs areas were being used to dry harvested plants, while ovens were used to process cannabis resin and manufacture cannabis-infused products, including chocolate bars.

Investigators later estimated that the operation had generated around £3.5 million over a five-year period.

Two men had also been recruited to help maintain the crop. Justin Liles, aged 22, from St Clears, and Jack Whittock, aged 30, from Narberth, were found working on the site at the time of the raid and were later jailed for their involvement.

***Jack Whittock and Justin Liles were two worked in the cannabis factory***

Edward McCann was arrested at the farmhouse, while Daniel McCann — who owned the property but was living in Hampshire — was later arrested in Portsmouth in February 2021.

During sentencing at Swansea Crown Court, the judge rejected Edward McCann’s earlier claim that the cannabis was largely for personal medical use following a leukaemia diagnosis. The court heard that electricity had been illegally drawn from the National Grid to power high-intensity lighting and ventilation systems required for large-scale cultivation.

Judge Geraint Walters said the operation had been so extensive that it was unlikely to escape notice indefinitely, noting that the unusual security measures and lack of farming activity would have drawn attention in an agricultural area.

The cannabis plants seized during the raid were valued at up to £460,000, with finished products weighing around 80 kilograms and worth as much as £1.5 million.

Edward McCann was sentenced to seven years and seven months in prison, Daniel McCann received eight and a half years, and Linda McCann was jailed for six years and seven months. Liles was sentenced to 22 months, while Whittock received two years and ten months.

At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, the court heard that Edward McCann had personally benefited by almost £1.8 million. He was ordered to repay £340,000 within three months or face an additional four years in prison. Daniel McCann was given the same repayment order and penalty.

Linda McCann, said to have profited by £1.45 million, was ordered to repay £335,000 or face a further three years behind bars.

The court was told that failure to pay would not cancel the financial obligations, even if additional prison sentences were served. Further hearings are continuing to determine confiscation orders for the two hired workers.