A Mother Accused, a Newborn De-ad and 15 Alleged St-ab Wounds — The Disturbing Truth Emerging in Court
A newborn baby suffered 15 stab wounds before being hidden in an outhouse in Sheffield, a court has heard.
The child, named only as Baby S, was discovered fatally injured in a house in the Wincobank area of the city at around 6am on Sunday.
She had allegedly been repeatedly stabbed in a bathroom, wrapped in a towel and blue bag and then dumped on a washing machine in the outhouse.
On Wednesday her mother, Andrea Skopova, 20, appeared in court charged with the baby’s murder at the property in Holywell Heights.
Peter Horvath Jr, 19, and his parents Nina Horvathova, 37, and Peter Horvath Sr, 38, also appeared beside her in the dock at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court wearing grey prison-issue tracksuits charged with Baby S’s murder.
All four are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child and also perverting the course of justice by cleaning a crime scene.
A 15-year-old girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has also appeared charged with perverting the course of justice.
The defendants – who are all Slovak nationals and required an interpreter – were remanded in custody.
+5
View gallery
Andrea Skopova, 20, is the mother of Baby S. She has been charged with her murder and remanded in custody
+5
View gallery
Her boyfriend, Peter Horvath Jr, has also been charged with murder
+5
View gallery
A police forensics team could be seen entering the property on Monday
+5
View gallery
It is believed the smart property in the Wincobank area of Sheffield was being rented
+5
View gallery
Slovak national Peter Horvath Sr has also been charged with causing or allowing the death of a child and also perverting the course of justice
The court heard the baby had suffered 33 wounds from 15 stabbings.
Prosecutor Luke Hopkinson said the mother of Baby S is Skopova but the father is not known.
‘A female baby known as S was born in the early hours of Sunday 30 August at an address in Holywell Heights,’ Mr Hopkinson said.
He said that Skopova gave birth to the baby at 37 weeks and shortly afterwards presented at hospital.
Hospital staff were ‘confident’ the baby was not in the womb, the court heard. Medical staff alerted the police shortly after 5am. Police went to the address and could not find the child so later checked the address in Holywell Heights.
Mr Hopkinson said: ‘When attending, police located a baby wrapped in towelling and in a blue bag on top of a washing machine in an outhouse. The baby was deceased.
‘The baby has catastrophically been injured by a knife. She has 33 wounds from 15 separate stabbings.’
It is alleged that Horvathova and the 15-year-old girl cleaned up blood in the bathroom.
An eight-year-old child was also in the house at the time.
District Judge Tim Spruce remanded all five defendants in custody to appear before Sheffield Crown Court tomorrow.
Two women, aged 26 and 37, who were arrested on suspicion of murder remain on bail.
Detective Chief Inspector Tom Woodward, of South Yorkshire Police, said: ‘I would like to thank our communities, who I know will have been deeply impacted by this traumatic incident, for supporting us as we work through this intricate investigation.’
