‘A Relentless, Destructive Energy’: Inside the Trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
July 16, 2025 at 04:20AMA fascinating account of a case that has gripped the UK—the death of baby Charlotte, daughter of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon. Sophie Elmhirst’s commentary moves beyond the surface-level concern for the child to expose a deeper, more voyeuristic fascination with the couple’s relationship: “Less openly stated, but quite obvious, was the fascination with this marriage of seeming contrast: an aristocratic white woman and a Black man with a violent criminal record.” Elmhirst is astute in tracing the unlikely bond between the two, both shaped by lives spent “fighting authorities,” one against a wealthy family, the other against the criminal justice system. Their chaotic union spills into the courtroom, fueling the strange drama of this trial.
The next day, Marten didn’t turn up. It felt like a direct challenge to the judge, testing his resolve the way a child tests a parent’s boundaries. The trial had become a tussle for control: Lucraft could demand Marten’s compliance all he liked, but he couldn’t force her to attend. The linear, rule-based system on which a trial depends had met its perfect enemy in Marten, who felt no deference to that system and who seemed to operate in a kind of swirl of impulsivity, knocking logic off its tracks at every turn.
When Lucraft entered, Fitzgibbon rose and the two men stared at each other in loaded silence.
“Mr Fitzgibbon,” said Lucraft, eventually.
“Well it’s a conundrum isn’t it,” said Fitzgibbon. “There are two possibilities. One is that this is a sham and that she simply doesn’t want to come to court. The other is that she’s telling the truth and has a debilitating toothache.” Fitzgibbon suggested the judge should lean towards the second option.
Lucraft allowed his frustration to flow. He had bent over backwards for Marten already, he said. She was on trial for very serious offences. “Constance Marten is not running this trial, I am,” he declared, his voice resonating round the room in an uncharacteristically dramatic pronouncement, as if he had to remind himself of his authority.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/07/15/a-relentless-destructive-energy-inside-the-trial-of-constance-marten-and-mark-gordon/
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