The baby's mom, Constance Marten, has ties to Britain's royal family, while Mark Gordon, a registered sex-offender, served 20 years in a Florida prison before he was deported to England.
Remains belonging to the missing infant of aristocrat Constance Marten, 35, and registered sex-offender Mark Gordon, 48, were discovered after a “painstaking search” of nearly 100 square miles of England’s countryside since the baby’s parents’ Monday night arrest, according to authorities.
The body was discovered in a wooded area near where Marten and Gordon were arrested in Brighton, a city in the southern coast of England, police said.
“This is an outcome that myself and that many officers who have been part of this search had hoped would not happen,” Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford told reporters.
Marten and Gordon remain in custody, authorities said. They were initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect, and were later arrested for gross negligent manslaughter after police say they failed to reveal information about their newborn’s whereabouts.
When the pair were initially arrested on Monday night, they did not have their baby with them, police said. Marten is believed to have given birth to the child in early January in the backseat of a car, and neither she nor the infant had received medical attention since the baby's birth, authorities said.
The car was found broken down and ablaze on the shoulder of a motorway in Greater Manchester in the northeast of England on Jan. 5, about a day or two after their baby was born, authorities said.
They are then believed to have travelled across England in various taxis, authorities said. Marten and Gordon are believed to have been sleeping in a tent and evaded police by moving around frequently and keeping their faces covered with face masks, The Guardian reported.
Marten comes from a family with ties to Great Britain’s royal family. Her grandmother was Queen Elizabeth's god-daughter and good friends with Princess Margaret, and her father was one of Queen Elizabeth II's pages.
She grew up in Crichel House, a well-known mansion located on 500 acres of land, and attended boarding school. While studying at the University of Leeds, she was featured in magazines, and went on to work for news outlets Al-Jazeera and Daily Mail.
In 2016, she dropped out of a drama course she had been taking and cut off ties with her family, according to The Independent. She also began a relationship around the same time with Gordon, who hails from a significantly different background.
Gordon was born in Birmingham, England, and was a young boy when he moved to Florida with his mom and half-siblings.
When he was 15 years old, Gordon was found guilty of kidnapping and sexual battery. He had broken into a woman’s bathroom window, covered his face with a pair of her stockings, and was armed with a kitchen knife when he demanded the victim to undress, The Independent reported, citing court records.
Gordon eventually spent 20 years in prison before being deported to England in 2010, according to The Independent.
Despite having once expressed concern about her relationship with Gordon, according to The Independent, Marten’s dad said, “When the time comes, I am longing to see Constance to reassure her that, whatever the weather, I love her dearly and will support her as best I can through the difficult weeks and months here on in.”
