Shocking Sheffield case: The mother of a stabbed infant is among four people charged after the baby’s body was found on a washing machine—but that is not even the most horrifying detail
Britain has been left reeling by one of the most disturbing cases involving the death of a newborn infant in recent years. In the early hours of Sunday 30 August 2026, emergency services were called to a property on Holywell Heights in the Wincobank area of Sheffield following reports of concern for the safety of a baby. What they discovered inside an outhouse would shock the nation.
The body of a newborn baby girl, known only in court proceedings as Baby S, was found wrapped in a towel and placed inside a blue bag on top of a washing machine. A post-mortem examination later confirmed that the infant had suffered 33 separate wounds caused by 15 stab injuries to her face and torso, both front and back. Medical evidence established that the baby was alive at the time of the attack.
Four adults have now been charged with her murder. They are Andrea Skopova, aged 20; Peter Horvath Junior, aged 19; Peter Horvath Senior, aged 38; and Nina Horvathova, aged 37. All four face additional charges of causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting the course of justice by taking steps to clean and conceal the scene. A 15-year-old girl has also been charged with perverting the course of justice. The four adults are all Slovakian nationals and have been remanded in custody. Their trial is currently scheduled for April 2027 and is expected to last several weeks.
The most significant revelation to emerge from the court hearings is the identity of the baby’s mother. Prosecutors have confirmed that Andrea Skopova is the mother of Baby S. The child was born at the Holywell Heights address at around 37 weeks gestation in the early hours of 30 August. Shortly afterwards Skopova attended hospital. Staff there became concerned about the whereabouts of the newborn and contacted police, who then attended the property and made the grim discovery.
Skopova is the girlfriend of Peter Horvath Junior. His parents, Peter Horvath Senior and Nina Horvathova, are the other two adults charged. Court proceedings have indicated that Peter Horvath Junior is not believed to be the father of the child. The identity of the baby’s father remains unknown.
The case has generated profound public distress. Neighbours described the family as relatively quiet, although the house had a number of visitors. Flowers and soft toys have been left near the police cordon as the community struggles to process the scale of the violence inflicted on a newborn. Senior police officers have described the incident as deeply traumatic for all involved, including the emergency responders who attended the scene.
This is not simply a case of sudden unexplained infant death. The combination of multiple deliberate stab wounds, the attempt to hide the body, and the fact that the mother herself stands charged with murder has intensified public outrage. The legal process will now carefully examine the precise sequence of events inside that house on the morning of 30 August, the relationships between the defendants, and any actions taken afterwards to cover up what had occurred.
For now, the four adult defendants remain in custody while the investigation continues. Two other women who were initially arrested remain on bail. The full facts will be tested in court next year. Until then, the image of a newborn baby girl found stabbed and discarded on a washing machine continues to haunt the public imagination and raises deeply troubling questions about what happened in that Sheffield home.
