UK: Constance Marten & Mark Gordon arrested on suspicion of manslaughter; baby's life is now at risk

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, the runaway couple havebeen further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as police search for their missing baby.The couple was arrested when the metropolitan police were looking for their baby under an urgent search operation. The police now feared that the couple may have harmed the baby. Since their arrest on Monday, the couple has neither revealed the whereabouts of their child nor its gender to the police officials.

Police said on Tuesday that the child has potentially been exposed to the winter weather. They have taken this matterincreasingly seriously because there is a high possibility that the child'slife is in imminent danger.

Since the birth of their baby, the child had not received any medical attention. Police learned that Ms Marten had given birth, possibly in the back of the vehicle without a midwife.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, from the Metropolitan Police, said the risk to the baby,now thought to be about two months old, increased as time went on, especially amid cold weather.

He added that police must now "be open to the fact this may not end in the way we would like".

Police told the local media that the couple was discovered by the officers from Sussex police in Stanmer Villas in Brighton. The couple was found on Monday night after a member of the public reported locating them shortly before 9:30 pm (local time).

Marten, 35 and Gordon, 48 have been travelling around the UK by taxi since their car was last found burning on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester on January 5.

Previously it was believed by the authorities that the couple had been sleeping rough in a blue tent and had avoided being tracked by the police by moving around frequently. In all the CCTV images and videos seen by the police, their faces were covered as they deliberately tried to go undercover.

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.

Marten comes from a well-to-do family and was a drama student. She met Gordon in 2016 and since then the couple had led an isolated life. In September, when Marten was well into her pregnancy, they began moving around rental flats. It is still unknown if their baby was full-term or has any health issues.

Who is Constance Marten and Mark Gordon?

Constance Marten comes from an aristocratic family and was a drama student when she met Mark Gordon in 2016. Gordon on the other hand is a sexual offender and had served a sentence for raping and beating a 21-year-old woman in Florida when he was only 14. The couple has been on a runaway since January 5. On February 7, Constance’s mother, Virgine de Selliers even wrote her an open letter in which she urged her to return back to her family. Her mother wrote that she will accept her will all heart and is ready to help her granddaughter. Ms Marten's father, Napier Marten also, previously appealed to his daughter to turn herself in to the police.

The recent search operation by the police covered a large area between Brighton and Newhaven, where the couple were spotted a few days ago. A helicopter was up overnight scouring a 10-mile search zone, while drones and police dogs were also deployed.

Investigators said they were worried the baby was being "exposed to sub-zero temperatures" and said they were "extremely concerned" for their wellbeing.

When they first disappeared, police said they were concerned that the couple seemed to be "constantly moving and awake for at least a few days - which must be especially draining on someone who had recently given birth with no medical attention".

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