Four in court over murder of newborn baby

Four people accused of murdering a newborn baby at a house in Sheffield have appeared in court.

Maria Skopova suffered 33 wounds in 15 separate stabbings on 30 August - the day she was born - before being found by police at a house in Holywell Heights, in the Wincobank area of the city.

Andrea Skopova, 20, Peter Horvath, 19, Peter Horvath, 38, and Nina Horvathova, 37, appeared earlier at Sheffield Crown Court charged with murder. A 15-year-old girl charged with perverting the course of justice also appeared.

No pleas were entered by the defendants on Friday and a further hearing was fixed for 14 December.

The adults, all Slovakian nationals, were remanded into custody by Judge Jeremy Richardson. The girl was remanded into youth custody.

Horvath Jnr, Horvath Snr and Horvathova, all of Holywell Heights, and Skopova, of Robey Street, Grimesthorpe, Sheffield, are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, and perverting the course of justice by cleaning the scene of the alleged crime.

A trial lasting up to seven weeks is expected to take place from 12 April.

At a previous hearing, the court was told Maria had been found on top of a washing machine in an outhouse at the property.

An inquest into the death of the baby girl was opened on Thursday and has been adjourned until 25 March due to the ongoing criminal proceedings.

Senior coroner Tanyka Rawden told Sheffield's Medico-Legal Centre when the inquest resumed in March, she would "make a formal decision as to how the inquest will proceed at that point".

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