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Did the manhunt for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon make baby Victoria’s death a ‘terrible inevitability’? Reporter David James Smith argues more could have been done to protect newborn in wake of new review
A new safeguarding review has reignited debate over whether the death of baby Victoria, killed by her parents Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, could have been prevented had police handled their manhunt differently. Discussing findings from the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel's report, crime reporter David James Smith argued on the Daily Mail's Trial podcast that the high-profile, public pursuit of the couple in early 2023 may have driven them further off-grid, contributing to a "terrible inevitability" that ended in the newborn's death from suspected hypothermia.
Marten and Gordon, who lived a nomadic lifestyle and had already had four children removed by family courts, went on the run after Victoria's birth, fearing she too would be taken into care. Police launched a nationwide manhunt after finding a placenta in their abandoned car, and the couple evaded capture for weeks by living outdoors through winter on the South Downs before Victoria's body was found in a shopping bag near Brighton on 1 March 2023. Following a trial and retrial at the Old Bailey, both were jailed for fourteen years for gross negligence manslaughter in September 2025, with Gordon receiving a further four years due to the risk he posed to the public; the new review, titled "Protecting All Vulnerable Babies Better", examined systemic safeguarding failures and the family's long pattern of non-engagement with authorities.
In short
- Review questions if police manhunt tactics worsened baby Victoria's fatal outcome.
- Marten and Gordon jailed 14 years each for newborn's manslaughter.
- Couple fled into winter countryside fearing Victoria would be taken into care.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A highly publicised manhunt, whilst well-intentioned, may have backfired by confirming the couple's deepest fears about state authorities seizing their child, driving them further underground and making engagement impossible. The intense police pursuit through winter months may have created the conditions for tragedy when a more cautious, relationship-focused approach might have kept communication channels open and enabled earlier intervention or access to help.
The case against
Police faced a genuine safeguarding emergency with a missing newborn and had both a duty and obligation to locate the child urgently through all available means. The parents' deliberate choice to flee with an infant into winter conditions, rather than engaging with authorities, was the direct cause of Victoria's death. It would be unreasonable to expect police to restrain search efforts for a missing vulnerable child based on speculation about unintended consequences, when their primary responsibility was finding her.
Explained simply
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were a couple living a nomadic lifestyle who went into hiding in early 2023 after the birth of their daughter Victoria. They fled because they feared she would be taken into care, as four of their previous children had already been removed by family courts.
The couple evaded a police manhunt for weeks by living outdoors on the South Downs during winter. Baby Victoria died from suspected hypothermia, and her body was found in a shopping bag near Brighton on 1 March 2023. Both parents were convicted of gross negligence manslaughter and jailed in September 2025.