Constance Marten, the aristocratic heiress found guilty of causing her baby’s death, previously attended churches including Holy Trinity Brompton, and the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Nigeria led by the late disgraced TB Joshua.

The information had been kept secret until the end of Marten’s retrial, which culminated in Constance, 38, and her partner Mark Gordon, 51, being found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to their baby, Victoria. The couple share four other children, all of whom have been taken into state care.

As a teenager, Marten and her mother attended Holy Trinity Brompton in west London during the early 2000s. A friend she met at HTB described Marten—known as “Toots”—as “the most lovely girl”.

She told The Telegraph: “We met through the church but then started hanging out and would often find ourselves at the same parties together.

“She had such a huge smile that just lit up the whole room. She had this way of making everyone around her feel warm and happy. People were really drawn to her.”

During the summer of 2006, Marten and her mother, Virginie de Selliers, travelled to Nigeria and began attending the controversial Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos, founded by pastor TB Joshua.

Marten was reportedly “handpicked” by Joshua to be one of his “white Western disciples”, but a dark picture quickly emerged. In the years since, reports of sexual and psychological abuse have come to light, with Joshua demanding his followers totally obey him—even to the point of eating his leftovers and denying themselves sleep.

After three months in the sect, Marten’s mother helped her escape and return to the UK.

Once back in the UK, friends reported that she seemed like a totally different person. Whilst there is no direct evidence of Marten being sexually abused by Joshua, a friend remarked: “All I can say is TB Joshua ruined her life.”

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon will be sentenced in September.