Constance Marten claims she was 'consumed by grief' after her newborn baby died 'when she fell asleep on top of her' while on the run in 'terrible, tragic accident'

An aristocrat accused of killing her baby claimed today that she was 'consumed by grief' after falling asleep on top of the newborn in a 'terrible, tragic accident'. Constance Marten said she was 'stressed and exhausted' after nearly two weeks on the run from the authorities when she accidentally fell asleep on her baby Victoria 'compromising the baby's breathing' just a day or two after going camping in the South Downs in the middle of winter. We say, death was caused by Ms Marten falling asleep and compromising the baby's breathing and we say that is a tragic accident, something that could happen anywhere 'And then consumed by grief, still wishing to avoid the world, her existence was reduced to scavenging for food and living in appalling conditions and she was unwilling to let go of the remains of the baby despite the fact she died. A Metropolitan Police handout image dated January 5, 2023 of CCTV footage of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon walking into Bolton bus interchange with the baby allegedly underneath Marten's coat, which has been shown in court during their trial at the Old Bailey 'What happened, was say, is not a crime but a terrible, tragic accident.' A court artist's sketch of Constance Marten appearing in the dock at the Old Bailey yesterday Prosecutor Tom Little, KC, told the jury earlier that Victoria had been 'mistreated', by her 'utterly reckless' parents, adding: 'It is difficult to see what accommodating a newborn baby in a flimsy tent, in midwinter, without proper heating or access to food and clothing creates other than a serious and obvious risk of hypothermia and death or a serious and obvious risk of suffocation.