FOUR PEOPLE ACCUSED OVER NEWBORN BABY’S DEATH NOW FACE ANOTHER SERIOUS ALLEGATION — AND IT CENTRES ON WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS

A SHOCKING NEW DETAIL HAS EMERGED IN THE CASE OF BABY S — WITH FOUR PEOPLE ACCUSED OF HER DEATH ALSO FACING AN ALLEGATION THAT THEY TRIED TO CONCEAL WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

Andrea Skopova, 20, Peter Horvath Jr, 19, Peter Horvath Sr, 38, and Nina Horvathova, 37, are due to stand trial over the death of a newborn girl known in court only as Baby S.

But prosecutors are not only alleging that the four were involved in the circumstances surrounding the baby’s death.

They have also been charged with causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting the course of justice by taking steps to conceal the killing of an infant.

Court reports have described that allegation as involving the cleaning of the scene.

A fifth defendant — a 15-year-old girl whose identity is protected because of her age — is separately charged with perverting the course of justice.

THE DISCOVERY THAT STARTED THE INVESTIGATION

Baby S was found dead at a property on Holywell Heights in the Wincobank area of Sheffield on Sunday, August 30.

Police had been called following concerns about the safety of an infant.

A forensic post-mortem later established that the newborn died from stab wounds.

Prosecutors told an earlier hearing that Baby S had suffered 33 wounds from 15 separate stabbings, with injuries to her face and torso, both front and back.

The court also heard that the baby’s body was found wrapped in a towel and placed inside a blue bag in an outbuilding, on top of a washing machine.

The details have shocked the local community and prompted a major investigation by South Yorkshire Police.

FOUR ADULTS NOW FACE THREE SETS OF CHARGES

The four adult defendants are each charged with:

• Murder
• Causing or allowing the death of a child
• Perverting the course of justice

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had decided there was sufficient evidence to bring the murder charges and that prosecution was in the public interest.

However, the CPS has stressed that the charges are not findings of guilt and that the defendants have the right to a fair trial.

THE 15-YEAR-OLD DEFENDANT

The teenager appeared in court separately from the adults.

She cannot legally be identified.

She is charged with perverting the course of justice, rather than murder.

The teenager later appeared alongside the four adults at Sheffield Crown Court, where all five defendants sat in the glass-fronted dock.

Seven security guards and two Slovak interpreters were present during the hearing.

Twenty-six members of the defendants’ families watched from the public gallery.

Both Skopova and the 15-year-old girl were reported to have cried during the proceedings.

WHO WAS BABY S?

The prosecution has identified Skopova as Baby S’s mother.

The court heard that she had given birth at 37 weeks in the early hours of August 30 before later attending hospital.

Medical staff recognized that she had recently given birth and contacted police.

The baby’s father is currently unknown.

Prosecutors said Peter Horvath Jr, Skopova’s boyfriend, is not believed to be the baby’s father.

Horvath Jr is the son of Peter Horvath Sr and Nina Horvathova.

TWO MORE WOMEN REMAIN ON BAIL

The investigation has not ended with the five people now facing charges.

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

They have not been charged with murder at this stage.

Police have continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding Baby S’s death.

Authorities have also urged members of the public not to speculate or share information online that could interfere with the criminal proceedings.

TRIAL SET FOR APRIL 2027

Judge Sarah Wright has scheduled the trial to begin on April 12, 2027.

It is expected to last between six and seven weeks.

All five defendants remain in custody, with the next hearing scheduled for October 2, 2026.

But as the case moves toward trial, one question is likely to remain at the centre of the investigation:

WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED AFTER BABY S DIED — AND WHAT DO PROSECUTORS ALLEGE WAS DONE TO CONCEAL IT?

For now, those questions remain unanswered.

The allegations will have to be tested in court, where the defendants will have the opportunity to defend themselves.

No one charged in the case has been convicted.