Constance Marten and Mark Gordon sentenced to 14 years each in prison over daughter's death

The couple appeared at the Old Bailey for sentencing today.

They also faced sentencing for child cruelty, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice following two trials spanning six months each.

Gordon was sentenced to 14 years in prison and will serve a further four years on an extended licence.

Marten was also handed a 14-year jail term and told she will not be released until she has served two-thirds of the sentence.

Passing sentence to Marten, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: "In your case, I have given consideration as to whether the custodial sentence should be the same length as that passed on Mark Gordon or not.

"Having reflected on the issue, I am of the view that the custodial terms should be of the same length.

"The issues around future risks have led me to the conclusion that Mark Gordon should be subject to an extended sentence, and there is therefore that distinction between the two of you."

Judge Lucraft KC concluded his remarks by saying: "Before I leave this case, this was clearly a difficult and painstaking investigation for which many police officers were involved.

"I express my sincere thanks to all of those involved."

Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, who led the homicide investigation into Victoria's death, said: "The selfish actions of Mark Gordon and Constance Marten resulted in the death of an innocent newborn baby who would have recently had her second birthday and should have had the rest of her life ahead of her.

"This was an incredibly challenging investigation for the hundreds of officers across the UK who were involved in the search. Our main focus throughout the search was finding Victoria alive, and we were devastated by the outcome.

"We know today's sentencing won't bring Victoria back, but I am pleased our investigation has resulted in the couple who caused her death finally being brought to justice."

Previously, the court had heard how the defendants exposed baby Victoria to dangerous conditions when they went into hiding to avoid her being taken into care, as four other siblings had been before.

Police launched a nationwide hunt after their car burst into flames on a motorway near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5, 2023.

The defendants travelled across England and went off-grid, sleeping in a tent on the South Downs, where baby Victoria died days later.

Following seven weeks on the run, the defendants were arrested in Brighton.

After a desperate search, police found their baby dead amid rubbish inside a Lidl bag in a disused shed nearby.

Victoria’s remains were too badly decomposed to establish the cause of death.

The prosecution said she had died from hypothermia in the cold and damp conditions inside the flimsy tent or was smothered despite Marten being warned by social workers about the dangers.

The defendants claimed their daughter’s death was a tragic accident after Marten fell asleep on her.

While on the run, Victoria was only briefly glimpsed on CCTV footage in London wearing the same teddy bear motif babygrow later recovered with her body inside the shopping bag.

In 1989, Gordon, then aged 14, held a woman against her will in Florida for more than four hours and raped her while armed with a knife and hedge clippers.

Within a month, he entered another property and carried out another offence involving aggravated battery.

Gordon, who moved with his mother from Birmingham to the US at the age of 12, was sentenced to 40 years in jail and was released after 22 years.

In 2017, he was convicted of assaulting two female police officers at a maternity unit in Wales, where Marten gave birth to their first child under a fake identity.