Murder trial of four people charged over death of newborn baby girl set for next year

Four people accused of murdering a newborn baby girl who was repeatedly stabbed will go on trial next year.

The baby's mother, Andrea Skopova, 20, along with Peter Horvath Jr, 19, Peter Horvath Sr, 38, and Nina Horvathova, 37, have been charged with the murder of a child, named only as Baby S.

The child was found on top of a washing machine at an address in the Wincobank area of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, on Sunday, having suffered 33 wounds in 15 separate stabbings, the city's magistrates' court previously heard.

She had wounds on her "face and torso - front and back", the court was told.

The four Slovakian nationals have also been charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, and perverting the course of justice by cleaning the scene of the alleged crime.

They each appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday along with a 15-year-old girl, who has also been charged with perverting the course of justice.

All five defendants sat in the glass-fronted dock, accompanied by seven security guards and two Slovak interpreters.

They were watched by 26 members of their family from the public gallery balcony above.

Skopova and the 15-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both cried throughout the hearing.

Judge Sarah Wright set a trial date for 12 April next year, with the process expected to last six to seven weeks.

The defendants were remanded in custody, with the next hearing set to take place on 2 October.

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Two other women, aged 26 and 37, remain on bail after being arrested on suspicion of murder.

Skopova, the baby's mother, is the girlfriend of co-defendant Horvath Jr, who himself is the son of the other two defendants.

The baby's father is unknown, prosecutor Luke Hopkinson said, but is not believed to be Horvath Jr.

(c) Sky News 2026: Murder trial of four people charged over death of newborn baby girl set for next year