The partner of an aristocrat accused of the manslaughter of their newborn baby refused to appear in court today.
Mark Gordon, 49, who was due to appear to face a charge a charge of failing to comply with notification requirements of the Sex Offenders' Register, claimed to be suffering extreme back and neck pain.
Gordon is due to appear for trial later this month alongside aristocrat partner Ms Marten after their newborn baby was discovered dead in an allotment shed in Brighton, East Sussex, in March last year.
A countrywide search was launched for the couple and their young baby after they disappeared in February.
Ms Marten became estranged from her Dorset-based family in response to her beginning a relationship with Gordon in 2016, whilst she was a drama student.