Aristocrat Constance Marten has been giving evidence at the Old Bailey as she and her partner Mark Gordon stand trial over the death of their newborn baby Victoria.
Testifying on Thursday, the mother told the court she “panicked” when her daughter died, fearing she would never get her other children back.
Jurors heard the 36-year-old concealed her pregnancy and went on the run with Gordon after their four other children were taken into care. Victoria’s remains were found last March in a Lidl shopping bag in a disused shed.
As she and Gordon, 49, deny charges of gross negligence manslaughter of Victoria between 4 January and 27 February last year, Marten told jurors she “did nothing but show her love”. She said she felt “intense grief” after she awoke to find the lifeless child tucked inside her jacket.
Prosecutors allege the couple’s “reckless and utterly selfish” behaviour led to the infant’s “entirely avoidable” death after they spent weeks living “off-grid” in a tent on the South Downs in wintry conditions.
The couple also deny charges of perverting the course of justice by concealing the body, along with concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty, and allowing the death of a child.
Marten is due to continue giving evidence in court on Friday.
