Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Inquest for baby paused

An inquest into the death of a baby, who was at the centre of a nationwide missing persons search, has been paused while police continue to investigate.

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, the parents of two-month-old Victoria, face five charges over her death, including manslaughter by gross negligence.

Her body was discovered on 1 March in a Brighton shed following a weeks-long police search for the family.

An inquest to determine how she died was opened and adjourned on Monday.

The hearing was overseen by Joanne Andrews, coroner for West Sussex, Brighton and Hove.

It was told an initial post-mortem examination carried out did not determine a cause of death.

Registration documentation provided by the court did not list a date of birth or "usual address" for the child.

The baby's body was found wrapped in a plastic bag at an allotment site in the Hollingbury area of Brighton, close to where Marten, 36, and Gordon, 49, were arrested.

The pair were detained and have been held in custody since.

They were charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, concealing a child's birth and perverting the course of justice in the days following their arrest.

It emerged during a hearing at the Old Bailey on Monday that they have also since been charged with child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.

It is claimed they caused the baby's death by their own "unlawful act" or failed to "take such steps as could reasonably have been expected" to protect the baby.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 4 January and 27 February.

The pair were both listed as not having a fixed address.

They appeared before Judge Mark Lucraft KC via separate video links from prison and spoke only to confirm their names during the short hearing.

A provisional trial date has been set for 2 January next year, with further administrative hearings due to take place this summer.