Sara Sharif’s dad & stepmum GUILTY of murder after beating and burning daughter, 10, in horrific two-year campaign
SARA Sharif’s dad and stepmum have been found guilty of murdering the schoolgirl in a barbaric two-year torture campaign.
The schoolgirl, 10, was hooded, burned and bitten by Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool before she was bludgeoned to death with a cricket bat.
Sara had suffered at least 71 external injuries when she was found dead at home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year.
Sharif, 42, his wife Batool, 30, and brother Faisal Malik, 29, were at the centre of a global manhunt after fleeing the UK after her death.
After arriving in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sharif called police to confess his daughter was dead after he had beaten her up “too much”.
The dad has now been convicted of murder after earlier accepting “full responsibility” for the horrors inflicted on his daughter.
Sara’s stepmum Batool was also today found guilty of her murder.
Malik, Sara’s uncle, was acquitted of her murder, but convicted of causing or allowing her death by a jury at the Old Bailey.
They will be sentenced at the same court on Tuesday.
Mr Justice Cavanagh said the case had been “extremely stressful and traumatic”.
Paying tribute to her daughter, Sara’s mother Olga Sharif, said: “My dear Sara, I ask God to please take care of my little girl, she was taken too soon.
“Sara had beautiful brown eyes and an angelic voice. Sara’s smile could brighten up the darkest room.
“Everyone who knew Sara will know her unique character, her beautiful smile and loud laugh.
“She will always be in our hearts, her laughter will bring warmth to our lives. We miss Sara very much. Love you Princess.”
The trial earlier heard how Sharif dished out brutal punishments to his daughter during the depraved campaign of abuse.
He had been awarded custody four years earlier, despite allegations of abuse having previously been made against him.
Tragic Sara “suffered dreadfully” and was burned with an iron, bitten and had a bag taped over head before she was found dead.
The schoolgirl was made to wear a hijab to conceal her injuries, which neighbours found “unusual” as she was the only family member to wear one.
Text messages from stepmum Batool described Sharif as a “psycho” who “beat the crap out of Sara”.
Describing one incident, she wrote: “Why the hell am I ever letting him in the house. I feel really sorry for Sara, poor girl can’t walk, she literally fainted in the kitchen in the morning, he made her do sit ups all night.
“It’s been so crazy man, you don’t even understand.”
Between June 6, 2022, and March 10, 2023, the court heard teachers noted Sara had bruising under her eye on two separate occasions.
The school notified the authorities and a social services referral was made – but officials decided not to intervene just six days later.
On April 17, 2023, Sharif removed Sara from school confirming his daughter would be homeschooled with immediate effect.
Now locked up at home away from preying eyes, Sharif was free to bound his defenceless daughter and subjected her to extreme punishments.
Packing tape was used to tie the terrified schoolgirl to a radiator and she was made to wear a nappy.
This violence reached a fatal head on August 8 when Sara was battered to death with a cricket bat.
She was then taken into the garden, stripped of her dirty leggings and nappy and cleaned with a jetwash.
The following day, Sharif, Batool and Malik fled to Pakistan – leaving the youngster dead in a bunk-bed.
Sharif then called police to say he had beaten Sara “too much” as a punishment for being naughty.
When police arrived, the found a chilling note by the schoolgirl that read: “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”
Officers also discovered a cricket bat stained with Sarah’s blood, a rolling pin with her DNA and black rope with her hair attached to it.
During his evidence, Sharif dramatically told jurors: “I accept every single thing”.
He admitted causing fractures – including to her neck bone – by hitting Sara with a cricket bat.
But the dad claimed he did not mean to “harm” Sara when he bound and beat her with the weapon.
He also denied that he had bitten the youngster and burned her with scalding water.
When asked if he had intended to kill his daughter, Sharif replied: “Yes, she died because of me.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty to murder and to causing or allowing the death of a child between December 16, 2022, and August 9, 2023.
But the dad and stepmum were convicted of murder and uncle found guilty of causing or allowing her death today.
Libby Clark, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Sara was a happy, outgoing and lively child described as always laughing, who was cruelly abused and murdered by those closest to her.
“None of us can imagine how appalling and brutal Sara’s treatment was in the last few weeks of her short life. The injuries inflicted on her were absolutely horrendous.
“We were able to build a strong case, showing where each defendant was in the weeks running up to Sara’s death using mobile phone evidence, CCTV sightings and work records.
“In a small house with such a big family, it would have been immediately obvious to all the adults what was happening to Sara. Yet none of them took any action to stop it or report it.
“They all played their part in the violence that led to her tragic death.
“We have today secured justice for Sara, a bubbly young girl, who was killed by the adults who should have protected her.”
Maria Neophytou, acting Chief Executive of the NSPCC, added: “Sara Sharif was repeatedly assaulted and tortured before being finally murdered by her father and step-mother in what was an absolutely shocking case of brutal and prolonged abuse.
“Her uncle was aware of the horrors she was being subjected to but did nothing to save her.
“Our thoughts go out to all those who loved and cared for Sara in a life that was marked by so much pain and suffering.”