|
Murder of Sara Sharif
Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl, was discovered dead in her family's residence in Woking, Surrey, England, on 10 August 2023.[1][2][3] She had suffered numerous and severe injuries over an extended period. Three suspects fled to Pakistan[4][3] and were arrested on their return to the United Kingdom. They were charged with murder and remanded in custody. In November 2024, Sharif's father, Urfan Sharif, admitted to her killing.[5] On 11 December 2024, Urfan Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool were found guilty of murdering Sharif.[6] Sara SharifSara Sharif was born on 11 January 2013 in Slough, Berkshire.[7][3] Her father is Urfan Sharif, a Pakistani taxi driver who moved to the UK in 2001.[7][8] A former partner of Urfan Sharif, Angelika, said that he held her captive in his home, he threatened her with a knife, and accused her of having an abortion after she suffered a miscarriage. He also tried to brand her with his initials. They had met while she was working at a Burger King restaurant in Woking and he was her shift manager. After escaping from his flat thorough a window, she reported Sharif to the police, who arrested and detained him for two days. Angelika went back to her native Poland.[9] Her mother, Olga Domin (formerly Sharif)[10], is Polish.[7] Olga has learning difficulties and was considered "vulnerable".[11][12] Urfan Sharif allegedly met Olga in Poland during a trip to stalk Angelika.[9] In 2009, the couple married and in 2010 had a son.[7][8] One year into the marriage, Urfan was arrested for assaulting Olga and a child. Olga allegedly told social services that Urfan tightened a belt around her neck and that he locked her in a room and took her phone.[13] She also said that he once tried to set her on fire and poured oil on her, but her cousin stopped him.[10][14] Sara was put under a child protection plan as soon as she was born, due to concerns that she was at risk of harm from both of her parents.[15] The couple separated in 2015 and later divorced, after which the children lived with Olga, but in 2019 their custody was awarded to Urfan, after which they lived in Horsell, Woking with him, his wife Beinash Batool, the couple's four children and Urfan's brother.[7][8] Olga, who objected to them being raised Muslim, had little contact with her children during the time they lived in Woking.[7] Sara was forced to carry out domestic chores for Urfan and Batool, and neighbours told the jury that they had regularly heard Batool being verbally abusive towards Sara.[16] Sara was subject to regular beatings that would result in her being tied up with tape and her head covered with a "makeshift hood".[17] Batool purchased large amounts of duct tape many times to make the hoods, which were made out of foil and duct tape.[18] She began wearing a hijab at school to cover up her bruises.[17] Sara gave multiple conflicting stories at school about how she received her injuries.[19] After Sara could not explain her injuries to her teachers, the school referred her to social services.[20] In April 2023, she was taken out of primary school under the ruse of being homeschooled to cover the abuse that she was receiving from Urfan and Batool.[21] A neighbour of Sara Sharif, Rebecca Spencer, reported that she had "the door shut in her face" by Batool after Spencer asked whether if everything was alright. She also reported hearing "constant crying" and "screaming", which had at one point reached "fever pitch".[22] Discovery of the body and investigationSharif's body was discovered at her residence on Hammond Road, Horsell, during the early hours of 10 August 2023 by PC George Van der Wart.[2][3] On the day of Sara's death, Sara's older brother sent his friend a text message stating that his sister had died.[18] Surrey Police identified Urfan Sharif, his wife Beinash Batool, and his brother Faisal Malik as persons of interest.[4] All three departed from the UK for Islamabad, Pakistan on 9 August, a day before Sara's body was found.[23][3] Urfan Sharif made a 999 call from Pakistan shortly after he arrived in Islamabad with his wife, brother, and five children.[24] He admitted, "I've killed my daughter," stating, "It wasn't my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much." He told the police call handler that his actions were intended as punishment, saying, "I'm a cruel father."[25] On 15 August 2023, a post-mortem was carried out, which discovered that she had suffered numerous and severe injuries over an extended period.[24] At the trial, her more than 70 injuries were revealed:[26] these included injuries to her ribs, shoulder blades, fingers and 11 fractures to her spine, a puncture wound to the head, a traumatic brain injury, a burn on her buttock caused by a domestic iron, scalds by hot water, restraint injuries, bruises caused by blunt objects and human bite marks.[26][27][28][29] The cause of death was determined to be "complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect".[30] Owen Arthurs, a paediatric radiologist providing evidence to the court, stated that Sharif had sustained neck injuries that occur "extremely rare[ly]"[31] and that said injuries were likely caused by "manual strangulation with a degree of force above that which we would normally recognise in ligature force – meaning hanging".[32] Anthony Freemont, a osteoarticular pathologist giving evidence to the court, said that she had hyoid bone[33] and wrist fractures, both of which were certainly non-accidental. He also stated that the aforementioned fractures were not what had killed her.[34] International manhuntAuthorities initiated an international search to locate the suspects.[2] Two police teams in Jhelum were actively searching for Urfan Sharif. There is no official extradition agreement in place between the United Kingdom and Pakistan.[24] The police made a new request for information two weeks after the discovery of Sharif's body, urging anyone who had contact with her to come forward with information.[2] On 12 September 2023, police raided the house of Urfan Sharif's father in Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan and recovered the five children in good condition, after which they were put in care.[23][35] On 13 September, the three suspects were arrested at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of murder after disembarking a flight from Sialkot via Dubai.[23] TrialOn 14 September 2023, they were all charged with murder along with an additional charge of causing or allowing the death of a child. They were remanded in custody ahead of a hearing on 15 September at Guildford Magistrates' Court.[36] They appeared before London's Old Bailey on 19 September 2023 via videolink.[37] A plea hearing took place in December 2023, at which all three pleaded not guilty to each charge,[38] and they were set to stand trial in September 2024.[37] At an Old Bailey hearing on 26 January 2024, Judge Mark Lucraft KC set a provisional trial date for October, with the actual date to be confirmed at a hearing in February.[39] At a hearing on 1 March, it was confirmed the trial was tabled to begin on 1 October.[40] On 8 October 2024, the jury was sworn in at the start of the trial of the three defendants at the Old Bailey.[41] The prosecutor revealed on 14 October that Sara's father had admitted killing her when he rang 999 after landing in Pakistan:[42] he claimed he had "legally punished her" and told the operator "I beat her up, it wasn't my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much".[43][44] In November, he accepted "full responsibility" for causing Sara's death.[5] Urfan Sharif called himself the "worst parent on the planet" and "accepted he was unkind and cruel" to Sara during cross-examination.[45] On 11 December 2024, Urfan Sharif and Batool were found guilty of murdering Sara.[6] Malik was found not guilty of murder but was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child.[6] On 17 December 2024, Sharif was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years, while Batool was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years, with the judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, describing their crimes as "a campaign of torture" in which "the degree of cruelty is almost inconceivable". Malik was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for causing or allowing the death of a child.[46] Assault on Urfan SharifOn 3 January 2025, Sharif was reportedly ambushed in his cell by two inmates, who then attacked him by slitting his throat with a tuna can lid. Sharif reportedly suffered non-life threatening injuries.[47] References
|
||||||||||||||
