Ten years ago, Francis Abolo was just another guy navigating life in London’s creative underground — parties, music, art.
That’s where he met a young woman named Constance Marten, someone he remembers as full of ambition and warmth.
They talked for hours about life, love, and the future.
She wanted to find “someone special.” She longed to be a mother.
But no one could have imagined how dark that path would become.
Today, Francis is left with haunting memories of “Toots,” as he affectionately called her — memories now clouded by tragedy, trauma, and a criminal case that shocked the nation.
She Dreamed of Love and Children — But Found Danger Instead
When Francis reflects on those late-night talks, he remembers how deeply Constance yearned for family.
It wasn’t a passing thought. It was central to who she was. “She talked more about having kids than anything else,” he says, still visibly shaken.
Eventually, she did become a mother — five times.
But four of her children were taken into care. And the fifth, baby Victoria, died in a freezing tent in 2023.
That horrific event led to Constance and her partner, Mark Gordon, being found guilty of manslaughter at the Old Bailey.
From Free-Spirited Partygoer to Isolated Tragedy
When they met, Constance was immersed in East London’s bohemian scene.
She lived in a warehouse near Francis, went to festivals, and was always surrounded by friends.
“She was the definition of a social butterfly,” Francis says.
He recalls her fondness for ketamine and gin and tonic, but insists she handled herself well.
There’s even a cherished photo of them smiling at the Secret Garden Party, after getting lost together in the rain.
“She seemed to thrive in that world,” he remembers.
A Woman With Roots in Privilege Who Tried to Escape It
Despite her love for underground culture, Constance came from a background that couldn’t have been more different.
She grew up in Crichel House, a vast stately home in Dorset, with family connections to British royalty.
Francis admits her aristocratic background didn’t really show at first. “She never played on it,” he says.
“She got on with everyone.” But he sensed that she was trying to distance herself from that world — maybe even run from it
. “She was posh,” he laughs, “but not in an obnoxious way.”
Signs of Inner Pain That Were Easy to Miss
Although she came across as open and vibrant, Francis now realizes Constance was quietly battling something much deeper.
Her relationship with her family, especially her mother, seemed strained.
And while she often praised her father, Napier Marten, who famously fled aristocratic life for a spiritual journey in Australia, she rarely spoke about her mother or siblings with any affection.
Francis noticed she used parties and drugs for “escapism.”
There were hints of trauma, he says, but nothing he could fully understand at the time.
The Nigeria Trip That Left Her “Broken”
One moment, though, stuck with him. One night at her flat, as he smoked and she took ketamine, she suddenly became overwhelmed.
She started crying and talking about a trip to Nigeria she took at 19 with her mother — to visit the controversial preacher TB Joshua.
“She just said it wasn’t a good experience,” Francis recalls. “It left her completely broken apart.”
He never pushed for more details, but it’s a conversation that’s stayed with him for years.
Then Came Mark Gordon — And Everything Changed
Shortly after Francis and Constance drifted apart, he heard she’d started seeing someone new.
That man was Mark Gordon, who had spent more than 20 years in a U.S. prison for a brutal rape committed at just 14.
Francis never met Gordon but heard he was quiet and distant. “She was looking for love,” Francis says.
“She must’ve seen something in him she needed.” But once they got together, she seemed to disappear from the world they once shared.
Life Spiraled Into Isolation, Poverty, and Tragedy
From living in a warehouse surrounded by friends, Constance ended up in a campervan outside someone’s home in Hackney Wick.
By then, she was with Gordon and slowly cutting off everyone else.
They would go on to have five children. Four were taken into care.
Their last child, Victoria, died in unimaginable conditions — a baby girl wrapped in a Lidl bag, hidden under empty beer cans.
A Heartbreaking End That Defies the Woman He Knew
Now 46, Francis finds it impossible to reconcile the joyful, curious, compassionate woman he once knew with the mother convicted of manslaughter. “She was very caring. She believed in social justice.
She supported Jeremy Corbyn. She hated capitalism,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s just heartbreaking.”
He doesn’t excuse her actions, but he believes Constance desperately needed help.
“Drugs weren’t her downfall — her trauma was,” he says. “They were just a crutch.”
The Girl He Called Toots Is Gone — But Her Memory Still Lingers
Francis still holds onto the good memories. The laughs. The rain at the festival.
The hours-long talks. He says he can’t erase the image of the woman he knew, no matter how dark her story became.
“There was a real person there,” he says softly. “I don’t understand how she got to this point.
But I do know — back then — she was kind, and she cared deeply. I just wish someone could have helped her before it all fell apart.”