Mother remanded in custody charged with murdering baby in park ‘incident’

A woman has been remanded in custody charged with murdering her five-month-old baby daughter, who was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital from a park.

Hayley Macfarlane was not required to enter a plea to the charge when she made a brief appearance before magistrates in Leeds on Saturday.

The 39-year-old, who was visibly upset in the glass-fronted dock, spoke only to confirm her date-of-birth and her home address as being Carrington Street in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

West Yorkshire Police confirmed on Friday that Macfarlane had been charged with the murder of her daughter Evelyn, after an inquiry into an incident at Woodhouse Moor park in Leeds.

In a statement issued on Thursday, police said a woman had contacted police at 5.44pm on Wednesday reporting a baby in a serious condition in an area of the park at the junction of Clarendon Road and Moorland Road.

The statement added: “Officers attended and the five-month-old girl was taken to hospital by ambulance for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead a short time later.”

During her court appearance, lasting just three minutes, Macfarlane was told that magistrates were precluded from considering bail on a charge of murder.

Macfarlane was also told that she will remain in custody until a prison video-link appearance at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday next week.