FOUR PEOPLE ACCUSED IN THE DEATH OF NEWBORN BABY S FACE ANOTHER SERIOUS ALLEGATION — AND IT CENTRES ON WHAT HAPPENED AFTER HER DEATH

Four people accused of murdering a newborn baby girl in Sheffield are now facing additional charges over what prosecutors allege happened after the infant died.

Andrea Skopova, 20, Peter Horvath Jr, 19, Peter Horvath Sr, 38, and Nina Horvathova, 37, are due to stand trial next year over the death of Baby S, a newborn girl whose case has shocked the local community.

But the murder allegations are only part of the case.

The four adults are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting the course of justice, with prosecutors alleging that the crime scene was cleaned as part of an attempt to conceal what had happened. 

BABY S WAS FOUND IN AN OUTBUILDING

Baby S was born at 37 weeks in the early hours of Sunday, August 30, at an address in Sheffield.

Her mother, Skopova, later went to hospital. Medical staff became concerned after recognizing that she had recently given birth and alerted police shortly after 5 a.m.

Officers initially attended an address following concerns about the safety of an infant.

The baby, however, was not there.

Police then went to a property on Holywell Heights in the Wincobank area of Sheffield, where they discovered the newborn in an outbuilding. 

The court later heard that Baby S had been wrapped in a towel and placed inside a blue bag on top of a washing machine.

A forensic postmortem examination established that she had died from stab wounds.

Prosecutors said the newborn had suffered 33 wounds from 15 separate stabbings, affecting her face and torso, including injuries to the front and back of her body. 

FOUR ADULTS FACE THREE SETS OF CHARGES

Skopova, Horvath Jr, Horvath Sr and Horvathova are all charged with murder.

They also face charges alleging that they caused or allowed the death of a child and perverted the course of justice by cleaning the crime scene.

A fifth defendant, a 15-year-old girl, has separately been charged with perverting the course of justice.

Because of her age, the teenager cannot be named.

Two other women, aged 26 and 37, were also arrested on suspicion of murder during the investigation but remain on bail and have not been charged. 

EXTRAORDINARY SCENES INSIDE COURT

The latest court appearance was marked by an unusually heavy security presence.

The four adults appeared at Sheffield Crown Court alongside the teenage defendant.

Seven security guards and two Slovak interpreters were present around the glass-fronted dock, while 26 members of the defendants’ families watched from the public gallery.

Court reports said Skopova and the teenage defendant were visibly distressed during the proceedings, with relatives also becoming emotional.

All five defendants were remanded in custody.

Judge Sarah Wright later set a trial date of April 12, 2027, with the trial expected to last between six and seven weeks. The next hearing is scheduled for October 2, 2026. 

INVESTIGATORS STILL HAVE QUESTIONS

Police have recovered a potential weapon and CCTV footage as part of the investigation.

South Yorkshire Police have also urged members of the public not to speculate or post unverified information online, stressing that protecting the integrity of the criminal justice process is crucial while the case proceeds. 

For investigators and prosecutors, the case now goes beyond the circumstances surrounding the newborn’s death.

The additional allegation of perverting the course of justice puts renewed focus on what allegedly happened inside the property afterward — including why prosecutors say the scene was cleaned.

And there is another unanswered question at the center of the case:

What happened in the hours between Baby S being born and police discovering her body — and what, if anything, was done to conceal what had happened?

Those questions will ultimately have to be examined at trial.

The four adults and the teenage girl are accused and have not been convicted. The allegations against them remain matters for the courts to determine. 