A 20-year-old mother appeared in court on Wednesday charged with the murder of her newborn baby girl in Sheffield after the infant was found stabbed to death in the early hours of Sunday, August 30.
Andrea Skopova is accused of killing the child, named in court documents as Baby S, shortly after giving birth in the bathroom of a property in the South Yorkshire city. The father of the infant is unknown.
A forensic investigation reported by the Daily Mail revealed that the baby girl suffered 33 injuries, including 15 stab wounds. Investigators said Skopova stabbed the infant in the bathroom before wrapping the body in a towel and a blue bag, placing it on top of a washing machine inside a makeshift building where officers later discovered it.
Court appearance and charges
Skopova appeared at court alongside her 19-year-old partner, Peter Horvath Junior, and his parents, Nina Horvathova, 37, and Peter Horvath, 38. All four adults are charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, as well as obstructing the course of justice by cleaning up the crime scene.
A 15-year-old girl has also been charged with obstructing justice in connection with the investigation. Authorities have not published her identity due to her age.
According to the British newspaper, Horvathova and the 15-year-old girl are specifically accused of cleaning up blood from the bathroom following the attack. An eight-year-old child was also present in the house at the time of the incident.
Police investigation and suspects
All five defendants are Slovak nationals and have been remanded in custody following their court appearance.
Two other women, aged 26 and 37, who were previously arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the case remain free on bail.
The court heard that Skopova gave birth to the baby girl at 37 weeks of pregnancy, just a few hours before police located the body. Medical staff at a local hospital alerted police shortly after 5 a.m. after determining that the infant was no longer in the womb. Police officers located the baby shortly afterward.
