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Killed baby's funeral 'important moment' for family

Danny Halpin,Yorkshireand
Oli Constable,Sheffield
News imageOli Constable/BBC A man with a grey beard and wearing a black baseball cap and light brown jacket and cream sweatshirt appears to be crying as he holds a small white casket. Other mourners and a priest in a white cassock look on. Behind them are the black iron railings capped with gold coloured crosses and the stone wall of the cathedral.Oli Constable/BBC
The child's grieving grandfather carried the casket into the cathedral for the funeral service

The funeral of a newborn baby who was stabbed to death has been described by a parish priest as "an important moment" for the family as they try to rebuild their lives.

Maria Skopova was found dead at a house in Holywell Heights, Sheffield, on 30 August, the day she was born, having suffered 33 wounds.

Her mother, Andrea Skopova, 20, along with Peter Horvath, 19, Peter Horvath, 38, and Nina Horvathova, 37, have all been charged with murder, while a 15-year-old girl has been charged with perverting the course of justice.

Rev Fr Chris Posluszny, who led the service at St Marie's Cathedral on Monday, said the infant's death had "affected the family so hard".

The rain stopped just before the funeral car arrived and the baby's grandfather appeared holding a small bright-white casket.

There was a moment of silence on the street outside as he broke down in tears and kissed the casket before carrying it in both arms through the doors of the cathedral.

Inside, he placed the casket by the altar and crouched, sobbing over it.

A card placed alongside it read: "For Baby Maria. The purest souls never stay too long in this world. With love from a mum x."

Maria's mother, who is on remand, had asked to be able to watch the service on YouTube from prison, Rev Fr Posluszny said.

News imageOli Constable/BBC Dozens of mourners dressed in black and two priests in white assemble by the doors of St Marie's cathedral.Oli Constable/BBC
Dozens of mourners gathered for the funeral of baby Maria at St Marie's Cathedral in Sheffield

Welcoming the group of about 50 mourners to Maria's funeral, he said: "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.

"We know that she, who will never be forgotten, she will share in the eternal life that God offers.

"She is valuable and precious and her memory will also be valuable and precious. May she rest in peace."

News imageOli Constable/BBC A bald man with white shirt and dog collar and black jacket stands inside a cathedral.Oli Constable/BBC
Rev Fr Posluszny said the death has affected the family "tremendously"

Around the casket lay wreaths of flowers with a crucifix placed on top.

Rev Fr Posluszny, who serves as parish priest for the Slovak community in Attercliffe as well as the dean for St Marie's, delivered the service in English and Slovak, before the family gathered around the casket to pay their respects.

Speaking to the BBC before the funeral, he said: "There has been a lot of tears, there has been a lot of asking of questions - why? How could this have happened?

"And in some ways, this will be an important moment actually to be able to place the child into the hands of God and also to bury the child and, in a sense, for many of them rebuilding their lives because it has been on hold for weeks and weeks and weeks and I think it has affected all of them tremendously."

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