Fresh From The Old Bailey Gavin Haynes

Twelve weeks into this six week trial, an end is in sight.
A final day of Marten's testimony was followed by a paediatrician testifying for the defence.

Then, the last lap. The judge has now issued legal directions to the jury.

We've heard closing arguments from the prosecution, in which they laid out the case that Constance Marten was a liar. "Grand-standing on a premier league level", said Tom Little KC. And telling "big fat lies" about her baby's death.

And a particularly florid one from Mark Gordon's barrister, who called Marten "a lioness who loved her cubs". And meditated at length on the origins of her name. He pointed out that 149 000 babies sleep with their parents every night in the UK. The death of Victoria, he inferred, was unhappy chance.

This week, we're joined by Court News UK's co-founder, Guy Toyn, and star reporter Jack Hudson, who has been sitting through every day of the trial, to pick over what we've heard - and what is still left to come.

After so long, the jury are about to take their leave, and come to a conclusion on all five charges. The next we hear from the Court News team will be after the verdict. Stay tuned.

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Fresh From The Old Bailey is an independent podcast produced and presented by Gavin Haynes, that brings brand new stories of crime and the courts, straight from the mouths of the people who see justice being done every single day - Britain's first rank of court reporters.

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The past fortnight has been dominated by five days of testimony by Constance Marten herself.
Finally on the stand, she has used her opportunity to offer some unusual testimony. She has spent long stretches making a string of allegations against social services regarding the care of her previous children, and she has been involved in long and testy back-and-forths with the chief prosecutor Joel Smith.

Smith has asked her about the proper burial or otherwise of baby Victoria. We've heard how at one point they planned a petrol cremation of Victoria's earthly remains. And we've heard how the duo of Marten and Gordon walked around with the infamous 'bag for life' containing Victoria, covered in soil and rubbish.

To unpack the events of these crucial weeks, we're joined by Guy Toyn, boss of Court News UK, star reporter Jack Hudson, who has been in court every day, and freelance journalist Alice Snape, who has also been covering the case.

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Fresh From The Old Bailey is an independent podcast produced and presented by Gavin Haynes, that brings brand new stories of crime and the courts, straight from the mouths of the people who see justice being done every single day - Britain's first rank of court reporters.
Find us on Twitter.

After another week of delays, the Constance Marten court has sat on only two days.
But they have been fascinating days. On Tuesday, for instance, the jury were offered a rundown of 'undisputed facts' - statements that the prosecution and defence agree on - to do with the history of social worker interventions in the lives of Gordon, Marten, and their four previous children.

We learned that Marten had pretended to be an Irish traveller in order to secure a council house. That the duo had lived in a Welsh woodland, in a similar tent to the one they pitched on the South Downs. That Marten's father had applied for a custody order, and that social workers had warned her not to co-sleep with her baby.

We heard about a 'separation order', which put their first child into foster care, and how the pair were often missing when it came to visiting the children being cared for by the state.

There was also fresh detail on the finances of the duo. How Marten banked with the oldest private bank in the country. Her £48 000 of existing funds at a time when the duo were living in tents, exploring their 'alternative lifestyle'. Her many emails to the trustees of her trust fund, requesting more cash.

With us as usual are Guy Toyn, Court News UK's supremo, and reporter Jack Hudson - who has been covering every day of the case.

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Fresh From The Old Bailey is an independent podcast produced and presented by Gavin Haynes, that brings brand new stories of crime and the courts, straight from the mouths of the people who see justice being done every single day - Britain's first rank of court reporters.

So far, the Constance Marten Trial has been subject to bizarre delays.
The Old Bailey was closed for the better part of a week after an electrical fire broke out in the building. But finally, the Marten case is back in front of a jury.
In the past two weeks, we have learned that Marten has switched her barrister. We've witnessed jurors climbing inside an Argos camping tent, set up in the court room.
The jury were also shown body cam footage of police investigating the Lidl 'Bag For Life' that contained the remains of baby Victoria. And we've been shown the police interviews of both Constance and her boyfriend and fellow defendant, Mark Gordon.
With us this week as usual are Guy Toyn, Court News UK's supremo. Reporter Jack Hudson - who has been covering every day of the case. And Alice Snape, a freelance journalist for Cosmopolitan and The Stylist, among others.
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Fresh From The Old Bailey is an independent podcast produced and presented by Gavin Haynes, that brings brand new stories of crime and the courts, straight from the mouths of the people who see justice being done every single day - Britain's first rank of court reporters.

Live from the Court News office inside the Old Bailey, Gavin Haynes presents a new discussion panel, analysing the trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon.
Court News' star reporter Jack Hudson has been in Court Five every single day. Guy Toyn, the company's co-owner, has over thirty years experience of courts and court reporting.
Together, they offer a first-hand view of this complex trial you won't see in the papers.
Every week, across the six week estimated duration of this case, we'll be bringing back news from the front line.
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Xyaire Howard and Chelsea Grant were both from the Caribbean island chain of The Grenadines. Both were in their early 20s, though they still did not know each other when they arrived in the UK in 2022, both intent on working illegally by overstaying on their tourists visas.
But the very same night they met - at a mutual friend's house - they had sex.

And after that, they were inseparable, a couple, touring a range of shabby studio flats in North West London as they bounced between jobs, defaulting on their debts.

Then one day they spotted Susan Hawkey. Hawkey was a local 'character'. Seventy-one years old, after her parents had died, 5'2 Hawkey had become a hoarder and an alcoholic.

But in the eyes of Howard and Grant, she was nothing more than an easy mark. After two muggings and a home invasion, one of the two moved towards the final phase of a plan they had cooked up: a scheme of petty robbery and grotesque sexual violence.

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About The Show
Each week, Fresh From The Old Bailey tells the story of a case from the Central Criminal Court, or the London Crown Courts. Fresh stories of recent trials, told through the eyes of those who were there. This is real true crime. British justice as it is now — from the people who see justice being done, every single day. 

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If you’ve been personally affected by the crimes of Howard and Grant, or if you have deeper knowledge of the case, please get in touch through our Gmail: FreshFromTheOldBailey@gmail.com. Discretion assured.