For those who haven't read it the BBC article is well worth a read about their selfishness in prioritising themselves and lack of concern for their children's' welfare and extensive dealings with social services over a 5½ year period
2017
Marten and Gordon return travelling around South America and she is 4 months pregnant
They travelled through a country during an outbreak of the Zika virus and and the London hospital was concerned that Marten missed check-ups and then disappeared. The hospital was worried enough to put out a "national alert". Marten's family also hired a private detective to find her.
She turned up months later in Wales after going into labour and using the name Isabella O'Brien with a fake Irish accent,
Unconvinced and, remembering the national alert issued in London, the hospital called the police. There was a physical altercation on the ward and Gordon was arrested and later sentenced to 20 weeks in prison for assaulting two female police officers.
2018
In the first court judgment a psychiatrist warned that Gordon had "the capacity to act in a violent manner"
Gordon spent the initial weeks of their first baby's life in Cardiff prison, while Marten stayed in mother and baby placements. When Gordon was released, Marten travelled to visit him in London, leaving the newborn behind for 17 hours.
The judge found the couple had "poor decision-making skills" and a "potential to act impulsively". "There are some concerns that on occasions these parents prioritise their own relationship over [their baby's] needs,"
They were warned about sleeping with a newborn on her chest - Marten reportedly said she had taken the advice on board.
There was a 6 month supervision order. But almost immediately they left Wales for London.
They lived in a series of houses in London often leaving without paying rent - despite Marten's income from a family trust fund.
A 2nd baby was born at home A private midwife was called but Marten had given birth. Gordon refused to tell the midwife his name, and became angry when she called an ambulance.
2019
Marten was pregnant with a 3rd child. A local authority in London alleged domestic abuse between Marten and Gordon, that they had failed to provide for their children's medical needs, and that they attempted to evade an investigation into their welfare.
The judge argued legal proceedings in front of her were "protracted and delayed", mainly because the parents failed to attend hearings giving a series of excuses.
A neighbour was woken by screaming in the early hours of the morning and saw Marten falling from a first-floor window and landing on a car. Gordon did not call 999, but someone else did. When paramedics arrived, Marten was inside the house screaming: "Help me, help me." She spent 8 days in hospital with a ruptured spleen and lacerations to a kidney. She was 14 weeks pregnant, but the baby survived.
Gordon told police officers he and Marten had both fallen out of the window trying to fix the TV aerial. The judge ruled "I find on the balance of probabilities that the father caused the mother to fall out of the window. I am not able to find whether he pushed her or whether she fell during a struggle. The former may be more likely."
Marten fled with her two children to a hotel in Ireland. She was eventually persuaded to return, a month later. The two children were removed from her on arrival, and she has never got them back. The 3rd child was taken into care when they refused to go to a residential assessment
2021
Judge Reardon found Gordon was likely to have perpetrated a serious act of violence on Marten, so it would be natural for her to fear him, she said. But despite this, she formed the view that it was Marten who was the "dominant personality".
"The strong impression given by the parents is that of two people who are fiercely united in an unrelenting struggle against a non-existent opponent," she said.
"I conclude that the parents have repeatedly prioritised their own need for privacy and secrecy above their children's health."Essentially, these parents have rolled the dice three times in refusing the vast majority of standard maternity and newborn healthcare and checks. They have been lucky each time, but plenty of pregnancies do involve complications which, if unchecked or untreated, can become life-threatening for the mother or the baby or both."
They repeatedly missed contact sessions with the children, and stopped visiting altogether. Their eldest child became distressed and developed a stammer. "My mummy and daddy cancelled again," the child told nursery staff.
[sometime in 2021 a 4th child was born)
2022
Decision to permanently remove all 4 children
Judge ruled she had to balance that against the risk of harm to the children, caused by the likelihood of exposure to violence between the parents and their attempts to avoid local authority intervention.
"Perhaps most hurtful, from the children's point of view, is their parents' baffling lack of commitment to them over the course of these lengthy proceedings and their inability, or unwillingness, to do what needed to be done in order to reclaim them," Judge Reardon said.
8 months later the couple went on the run - Marten was pregnant with Victoria
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd11x1xgj78o