Runaway couple Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's trial date announced
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon are due to stand trial in January
PA
Runaway couple Constance Marten and Mark Gordon are due to stand trial in January next year, charged with manslaughter, over the death of their baby.
The couple were arrested on 27 February after going on the run in mysterious circumstances in January.
Search teams hunting for the couple's missing two-month-old child found the remains of a baby in the Hollingbury area of Brighton two days later.
At the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, Marten, 35 and Gordon, 48, appeared in the dock for a brief first crown court appearance.
Mark Gordon leaving court today
PA
They both spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and the fact they had no fixed address.
They face charges of manslaughter and concealing the birth of a child.
They are also charged with perverting the course of justice.
At their first court appearance earlier this month, the hearing was told the couple had named the newborn Victoria.
The pair disappeared after their car was found abandoned and on fire on 5 January, in a lay-by on the M61 near Bolton.
A detailed forensic examination of the vehicle revealed that Constance Marten had given birth in or near the car a day or two before it was found abandoned.
They were later spotted in Liverpool, before traveling to Essex and then on to east London.
Police made numerous appeals to the public to help find the couple, who were occasionally seen on CCTV cameras.
The last known sighting was on 8 January in the Sussex port of Newhaven.
Despite repeated appeals, there were no more confirmed sightings of the pair until a member of the public spotted them at a convenience store in north Brighton just before 9:30pm on Monday 27 February.
The alert member of the public dialled 999 and police detained the pair just six minutes later.
There was no sign of the couple's baby and a huge search operation began, involving hundreds of police officers and volunteer search and rescue teams.
After almost two days of search activity, police reported that a child's remains had been found not far from where the couple were arrested.
An earlier Magistrates court hearing was told the child’s remains were found in an allotment shed, wrapped in a plastic bag, under a pile of nappies.
Detectives said they believed the remains may have been there for some time.
A post mortem examination on 3 March failed to determine the cause of death and further tests were ordered.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon have now been remanded back into custody.
They will appear at the Old Bailey again in June. Their trial has been set for 2 January next year.
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