Mother charged with murder of baby girl after Leeds park incident

A woman has been charged with the murder of her baby daughter in a park in Leeds.

Hayley Macfarlane, of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was charged by police on Friday with the murder of her five-month-old daughter Evelyn after an incident in Woodhouse Moor park, Leeds.

The 39-year-old was due to appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

Officers were called to the park, about a mile from Leeds city centre, early on Wednesday evening to reports of a baby in a serious condition.

In a statement issued on Thursday, West Yorkshire 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.

Police attended and found the five-month-old girl in a pram.

She was taken to hospital by ambulance for emergency treatment but pronounced dead a short time later.

A scene was put in place for forensic examination and detectives from West Yorkshire Police Homicide and Major Enquiry Team began leading the investigation.

Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle, the senior investigating officer, made an appeal for witnesses on Thursday.

He said: “The death of a child in these circumstances is clearly a very tragic incident and we are carrying out enquiries to get a complete picture of what has occurred.

“We would like to hear from anyone who was in the park around this time and who witnessed anything or who has any information that could assist the investigation.”