Constance Marten news – latest: Missing aristocrat’s father tells police to investigate cult
An aristocrat whose estranged daughter is missing with her rapist partner and their newborn baby has called for police to investigate her links with a Nigerian church where it is claimed she was “brainwashed”.
Police have been searching for Mark Gordon, Constance Marten and their child after they abandoned their car on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on 5 January.
Napier Marten said he had “long-held suspicions” since Ms Marten returned from Lagos, where she spent several months at the Synagogue, Church of All Nations.
Mr Marten, a film and music producer who was a Page to the late Queen, said that the experiences appear to have been a “trigger” in so much of what has happened to harm Constance”, saying it set up a pattern of behaviour exposing her to easy manipulation.
The distressed father issued an emotional appeal last month asking his daughter to turn herself in to the police so that she and her baby “can be protected”.
Key Points
Napier tells police to investigate cult
Her father, Napier, issues emotional appeal
Constance Marten disappears on 5 January
How to help if you have information about Marten’s disappearance
18:00 , Kate Plummer
Anyone who has information on the family’s whereabouts should call the incident room on 020 7175 0785.
Alternatively, information can be reported 100 per cent anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. They never ask for personal details and they do not trace your device.
ICYMI: Marten’s mother’s emotional plea
17:30 , Kate Plummer
In February, Marten’s mother issued an open letter calling for her daughter’s safe return and saying she wanted to “help” her.
“I want to help you and my grandchild,” she wrote. “You deserve the opportunity to build a new life, establish a stable family and enjoy the same freedoms that most of us have.
“Constance, I will do what I can to stand alongside you and my grandchild. You are not alone in this situation. We will support you in whatever way we can.
“I am ready to do what it takes for you to recover from this awful experience so you can thrive and enjoy motherhood.
“I love you and miss you, Mum xx.”
Mother of aristocrat writes open letter to missing daughter one month on
Marten was ‘brainwashed’ by televangelist
17:00 , Kate Plummer
A friend of Marten has said she was “brainwashed” by T.B. Joshua, the leader of a Nigerian megachurch her father has called for an inquiry into.
“She ended up becoming one of his disciples in Nigeria. I believe she got brainwashed while she was over there. The experience traumatised her,” the unnamed friend claimed.
“She was not the same person when she came back. She always used to be wild, but also happy, kind and buoyant. She was darker when she came back and she found things more difficult.
“She never told us what really happened. T.B. Joshua was a God-like figure. It was scary, and I believe it changed her. It was a huge part of her life.”
Where was Constance Marten last seen?
16:30 , Kate Plummer
Marten and Gordon abandoned their car in Bolton on 5 January and hailed a taxi to Liverpool where they took another taxi to Harwich in Essex, arriving just after midnight on Friday 6 January.
Police said they were also spotted in Harwich before travelling to Colchester then taking a taxi to East Ham station.
Detectives have since established that the couple took a taxi from East Ham, being dropped off in Whitechapel Road at 6:14pm on 12 January where Gordon was spotted leaving an Argos after purchasing a tent.
At 11.46pm they got a taxi to Haringey then another to Newhaven, East Sussex, where they were last seen walking along Cantercrow Hill into the fields beyond on 12 January.
11 key facts about the disappearance of runaway aristocrat Constance Marten
‘The stories of abuse are shocking and heart-rending’: Constance Marten’s father’s statement in full
15:00 , Matt Mathers
Napier Marten, the father of runaway aristocrat Constance Marten, has called for police to investigate the time that his daughter spent in a church cult in Nigeria.
Ms Marten has been missing with her rapist partner Mark Gordon and their newborn child since January 5.
Here is his statement in full:
Constance Marten’s father’s statement in full as he calls for probe into cult abuse
11 key facts about the disappearance of runaway aristocrat Constance Marten
14:45 , Matt Mathers
On 5 January, aristocrat Constance Marten, her sex offender partner Mark Gordon and their newborn baby went missing, abandoning a broken-down car, which was later found in flames, on the M61 near Bolton.
Since then, the trio have been traced to Sussex, where they were last spotted on 12 January, but have since avoided detection.
The Metropolitan Police is offering a £10,000 reward for information that leads to them being found safe.
Here are 11 facts about the case. Kate Plummer reports:
11 key facts about the disappearance of runaway aristocrat Constance Marten
The televangelist who claimed to heal Aids and counted Premier League stars among his followers
14:30 , Matt Mathers
TB Joshua – whose church has been linked to missing aristocrat Constance Marten – claimed to have healed thousands, including former Arsenal and Nigeria forward Nwankwo Kanu, writes Thomas Kingsley.
Read the full report here:
The televangelist who claimed to heal Aids and counted football stars among followers
Abuse at the hands of phoney prophet: Inside cult linked to Constance Marten
14:12 , Matt Mathers
A missing aristocrat who is on the run with her rapist partner and newborn baby may have been brainwashed at a Nigerian church where “disciples” were allegedly abused by the group’s self-proclaimed prophet.
Thomas Kingsley reports:
Abuse at the hands of phoney prophet: Inside cult linked to Constance Marten
ICYMI: New sighting of runaway aristocrat missing with rapist partner and newborn baby
13:58 , Matt Mathers
Last month the Metropolitan Police released CCTV images of the pair who were seen purchasing a tent at Argos in Whitechapel, east London, on 7 January just two days after they went missing near Bolton.
It is thought to be the last time the couple was spotted in public. Police believe they may have been sleeping rough in the tent during the recent cold weather.
Thomas Kinglsey has more:
New sighting of runaway aristocrat missing with rapist partner and newborn baby
Recap: a timeline of missing aristocrat’s disappearance with rapist partner and newborn baby
13:54 , Matt Mathers
Just after 6.30pm on Thursday, 5 January officers from Greater Manchester Police were called to a car on fire on the hard-shoulder of the M61 near junction four at Farnworth, Bolton.
Ms Marten and Gordon were not at the scene with officers believing they had fled on foot. However, most of their belongings were destroyed in the fire.
After establishing the identity of the car owners, Greater Manchester Police launched a missing persons investigation.
Below is a timeline of all the couple’s known movements since they disappeared:
Timeline of missing aristocrat’s disappearance with rapist partner and newborn baby
Runaway aristocrat’s father calls for inquiry into Nigerian cult where she was ‘brainwashed’
13:51 , Matt Mathers
An aristocrat whose estranged daughter is missing with her rapist partner and their newborn baby has called for police to investigate her links with a Nigerian cult church following claims revealed by the The Independent that she was “brainwashed” there.
Thomas Kingsley has the full story:
Missing aristocrat’s father calls for inquiry into cult where she was ‘brainwashed’
Who are Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Everything we know about couple missing with newborn
13:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Police are desperately trying to find the mother, her baby and Mark Gordon after their car burst into flames on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on 5 January.
Mark Gordon, the partner of Ms Marten, was jailed in the late 1980s in Florida, US, after raping and assaulting a woman when he was 14. After serving a 20-year sentence he was deported back to the UK in 2010.
The Independent revealed that Ms Marten is directly descended from the 3rd and last Baron Allington and once lived in the £34 million Crichel country house in Dorset.
Writing on her Facebook page, the 35-year-old said she enjoys “naked picnics, siestas amid hay bales and tractor scoops.”
Who are Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Everything we know about missing couple
11:16 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Welcome to our Constance Marten blog where will be giving you the latest updates on the missing aristocrat.
