Mother appears in court charged with murder of her baby girl

Hayley MacFarlane, 39, is alleged to have killed her five-month-old daughter Evelyn MacFarlane

Court artist drawing of Hayley MacFarlane appearing at Leeds Crown Court (Elizabeth Cook) (PA Wire)

A woman has appeared in court charged with murdering her five-month-old daughter.

Hayley MacFarlane, 39, is alleged to have killed Evelyn MacFarlane, who died in hospital after being discovered in a serious condition in a park in Leeds on 20 December.

During the brief hearing at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday, MacFarlane, wearing a large khaki coat, nodded to confirm her name.

MacFarlane, of Carrington Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was remanded in custody and will next appear at the same court on January 25.

Her trial is scheduled to begin on May 13.

West Yorkshire Police said a woman had contacted police at 5.44pm on Wednesday December 20 reporting a baby in a serious condition in an area of the Woodhouse Moor park at the junction of Clarendon Road and Moorland Road.

The statement said: “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.”