'It's heartbreaking to think what might've happened to that poor baby'
The baby that went missing with aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner may have died week ago, reports on Thursday suggested, amid claims the couple were not seen with the tot on numerous occasions.
Marten, 35, and her partner Mark Gordon, 48, remain in custody and are due to face further questioning on Thursday after police on Wednesday
discovered the remains of a baby. The couple were arrested in Brighton, Monday, on suspicion of child neglect, before being arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
They were reported missing after their car broke down near junction four of the M61, near Bolton, on 5 January, and actively avoided authorities until their arrest - sleeping rough, and changing locations often. Their baby had gone without medical attention since its birth and was born in secret.
Marten, who is from a wealthy family with royal links, has lived an isolated life with Gordon since they met in 2016. When Gordon was 15, he
was arrested and found guilty of kidnap and sexual battery, and later sentenced to 20 years jail.
The couple are said to have refused to speak to police about their baby.
Police on Thursday said they have been unable to confirm the gender of the baby who "may have neen dead for some time before they were found".
Detective superintendent Lewis Basford said: "It's too early for us to provide a specific date because we believe the death occurred during the course of a missing persons investigation, we have made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, this is a standard protocol for such circumstances."
A source told
The Sun the pair had visited the J & E Fish Bar in the weeks before their arrest - and only visited the parade of shops in Hollingbury Place at night, always without the baby.
Officers were seen putting up blue screens at allotments in the seaside city on Wednesday.
One woman told
MailOnline that police had arrived at 4.45pm and asked to use her garden to access the woods behind. They were carrying screens and equipment, she said.
Another local added: "The officers told us out of courtesy that that was the area they found the baby's body.
"The body was found in the woods. I don't know if the body was buried. But it's tragic to think that little child was left there, so close to where we live."
A post-mortem examination is expected on Thursday to determine how the infant died.
Police had long feared for the child's safety due to a lack of medical attention and sub-zero temperatures.
Speculation emerged that the death may have been days or weeks ago because the couple were spotted several times without the child, the Mail reported.
They were seen on CCTV on February 11 going into a fish and chip shop in Brighton, shopping at a convenience store and later visiting food banks, according to locals.
The last person to see the infant alive was on January 7 when the couple took a taxi in Whitechapel, east London.
On Wednesday, a businessman, who did not wish to be named, said Gordon has a leg injury and was using a tree branch as a walking stick.
"They were never seen with the baby, or pushing a pram or anything like that. It's heartbreaking to think what might've happened to that poor baby."
Days before her arrest, Marten is said to have made a visit to Brighton Food Bank.
One worker said they did not ask for anything for an infant, even though they had ample supplies of nappies and baby food, the Mail reported.
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