Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Police searching for baby arrest parents on suspicion of manslaughter

Police searching for the baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon have further arrested the couple on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

A huge search is under way for the two-month-old baby, after Marten and Gordon were found in Brighton.

The couple have been avoiding police since the infant was born in early January, moving around the country, paying for everything in cash and covering their faces when on CCTV.

Marten, 36, and Gordon, 48, had not been seen since their car was found burning on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5.

The couple were finally found after being spotted by a member of the public in the Stanmer Villas, Brighton on Monday (27 February) shortly before 9.30pm.

In a Tuesday press conference, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford from the Met Police said: “I can confirm that they were initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect.

“I can now confirm that they have been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and that they remain in custody at police stations in Sussex.

“The baby was not with them, and we have not found the baby at yet, ” he said. More than 200 officers are involved in the urgent search operation.

Basford said police had to consider the possibility that the child had “come to harm”, given cold weather in the area, and the fact the pair had now been in custody for a “significant period of time”.

The baby has not had any medical attention since birth in early January and is thought to have been just days old when they disappeared.

Authorities previously believed the couple had been sleeping rough in a blue tent, and had avoided being traced by the police by moving around frequently and keeping their faces covered in CCTV images.

The couple travelled from Bolton to Liverpool, then to Harwich in Essex, then to east London and then to Newhaven in Sussex, where they were seen near the ferry port on January 8.

Over 200 officers from multiple units in the Met and Sussex are involved in the search.

The police helicopter, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and drones are being used to assist officers on the ground.

Mr Basford said: “It is a vast area and at present we are looking in the local vicinity to where the couple were arrested last night, seeking a shelter or location for where they may have been holed up and hopefully where the baby is present.

“My plea to the members of the public here in Brighton and crossing over towards Newhaven is please be vigilant in the open land where you are, in the outbuildings that you may have on your own property, and assist us in that way by being vigilant.”

Miss Marten, who is from a wealthy aristocratic family, was a promising drama student when she first met Mr Gordon in 2016.

Since then the couple have led an isolated life and in September, when Miss Marten was well into her pregnancy, began moving around rental flats.

Gordon served 20 years in prison in the US for rape and battery committed when he was 14.

Anyone with any sightings or information that could assist the search is asked to call the incident room on 0208 3453 865 or 999 with anything they believe may be significant.