Interest has also been heightened by Marten and Gordon’s backgrounds: Marten is a daughter of an aristocratic British family, and Gordon spent two decades in a Florida prison after being found guilty of sexual assault as a teenager.

The manhunt began in early January after the couple’s abandoned vehicle was found ablaze in Farnworth, a town about 200 miles north of London.

Authorities had arrived to fight the blaze, but the occupants of the vehicle were nowhere to be seen. And a placenta was discovered in the back seat of the car, prompting Greater Manchester Police to urgently search for a newborn baby, police said.

It’s not clear why the couple chose to go on the run. Marten and Gordon were not reported missing or charged with any crimes before their vehicle broke down, Camilla Moor, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police, which is handling the investigation, said in an email. The pair, who police said they had no permanent address, were staying in northern England in Airbnb rentals and accommodation booked on Booking.com before the car broke down, Moor added.

The saga was a stark contrast to Marten’s privileged upbringing. Marten’s aristocratic family has loose ties to the royal family, according to the Independent — Marten’s grandmother is the goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II’s mother — and Marten was previously featured in Tatler, a British lifestyle magazine aimed at high society.

Gordon was born in Great Britain but raised in the United States, British media reported. He spent nearly two decades in jail in Broward County, Florida, after pleading guilty to kidnapping, burglary and four charges of sexual battery, according to state prisoner records. After his release he was deported halfway through his 40-year sentence, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which lists Gordon as a registered sex offender.

Marten became estranged from her family in 2016 after meeting Gordon at drama school, the BBC reported. But in January, as the search for Marten unfolded, her father urged her to turn herself in to the police.

“I want you to understand that you are loved very much no matter the circumstances,” Napier Marten said in an audio message published by the Independent. “Even though we remain estranged at this time… Report yourself and your little one to the police as soon as possible so that you and he or she can be protected.

The authorities also stressed in appeals to the couple that they only wanted to ensure the safety of the newborn. Superintendent Michaela Kerr of Greater Manchester Police had spoken to Marten: “As a mother… I know this is an exceptionally difficult time for you and you are probably feeling scared, but I promise our number one priority is the same as yours: your beautiful newborn safe.”

As the search continued into the dead of winter, national attention focused on concerns for the baby’s safety, as the family reportedly led a nomadic outdoor lifestyle, shuffling across the country as they tried to evade authorities.

The couple were found Monday evening in Brighton, on Britain’s south coast, some 400 kilometers from where they had fled from the vehicle, police said. But there was no sign of the baby — and the couple refused to reveal the baby’s whereabouts, local media reported.

The body of a baby – who has not yet been formally identified – was found dead in Brighton two days later, police said.

The coming days could bring answers to the various questions surrounding the events of the past two months. Marten and Gordon appeared in court on Friday after being charged with gross negligence, manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice, the Metropolitan Police said. It was not clear whether the couple had legal representation.

The body of the baby found this week was due for an autopsy on Friday, Moor said.

Police said they were “overwhelmed by the messages of kindness and support to those involved in this challenging search and investigation”, and would do “anything” to “find out what happened”.

Members of the public, meanwhile, left flowers and tributes near the site where the baby’s body was found. “Sleep safe little one,” read a note.