Funeral Held for Newborn Allegedly Stabbed to Death

Mourners gathered on Monday for the funeral of a newborn baby girl who was allegedly stabbed to death on the same day she was born. Maria Skopova was found dead on August 30 at a home in Holywell Heights, Sheffield, having suffered 33 wounds.

Police have charged the baby's mother, Andrea Skopova, her boyfriend Peter Horvath Jnr, and his parents, Peter Horvath Snr and Nina Horvathova, with murder. The four defendants, all Slovakian nationals, appeared in court earlier this month and were remanded in custody. No pleas have been entered, with arraignments set for December 14 and a provisional trial scheduled for April of next year.

The funeral service was held at St Marie's Catholic Cathedral in Sheffield and was conducted in Slovakian. Approximately 50 mourners attended, followed by a private family service. A card placed with the baby's casket read: "For Baby Maria. The purest souls never stay too long in this world. With love from a mum x."

Reverend Chris Posluszny, who led the service, stated that Maria's mother had requested to watch the service on YouTube from prison. He offered prayers for the infant, saying, "We commend her to the mercy, the love of God, that all that has happened will be in the past, for this child is to rest in the eternal peace of Christ, the eternal dwelling place of God."

A court previously heard that the baby's body was found wrapped in a towel and in a blue bag in an outbuilding in the Wincobank area of Sheffield. Skopova, 20, Horvath Jnr, 19, Horvath Snr, 38, and Horvathova, 37, have all been charged with murder. They also face charges of causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting the course of justice for allegedly cleaning the crime scene.

A 15-year-old girl, whose identity is protected due to her age, is charged with the perverting the course of justice offense. Court documents indicate Skopova is the baby's mother, and the father is unknown. Skopova is the girlfriend of Horvath Jnr, who is the son of the other two adult defendants, but he is not believed to be the father.