Sara Sharif murder trial latest: Schoolgirl showed signs of starvation and had ‘unusual’ injuries, jury told

Father Urfan Sharif, stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle Faisal Malik deny 10-year-old’s murder

Listen: Sara Sharif’s father tells 999 operator he’s killed daughter

Sara Sharif showed signs of starvation and had “unusual” injuries, the fourth day of her murder trial has heard.

An osteoarticular pathologist told the Old Bailey on Thursday that the 10-year-old’s bone marrow had been “unusual” in his examination of her body, and had shown up with a “bluey tinge”, which revealed itself to be gelatinous transformation of the bone marrow.

This can often be associated with starvation or the rapid removal of nutrition, although Professor Anthony Freemont could not say if this was a direct cause.

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, her stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, all deny her murder.

The court heard on Wednesday that the 10-year-old died as a result of “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect”, according to a pathologist.

She had suffered two traumatic injuries in the days before her death, as well as 71 recent injuries including bruises, abrasions, skin ulcers consistent with burns and probable bite marks.

Surrey Police discovered the schoolgirl dead in a bedroom at her home in Woking on 10 August last year.

The court heard earlier in the week that Sara’s head was covered with “homemade hoods” made of plastic bags and parcel tape in the weeks before her death.

Jurors were also told neighbour Chloe Redwin would hear “shockingly loud” sounds of “smacking” from their family home followed by “gut-wrenching screams”.

Key Points

• Sara Sharif showed signs of starvation and had ‘unusual’ injuries, jury told
• Schoolgirl suffered at least 71 fresh injuries although true total unknown, jury told
• Pathologist details string of bruises, burns and injuries found on Sara Sharif’s body
• Sara Sharif’s head covered with ‘home-made hoods’ of plastic bags and parcel tape, court told
• Pictured: Note found by Sara’s body saying ‘It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter’
• Police officer recalls finding Sara’s body under neatly placed white sheet

[16 October 2024 02:01 · Jabed Ahmed]

Neighbour heard sounds of ‘smacking’ followed by ‘gut-wrenching screams’, court told

The court heard that a former neighbour, Chloe Redwin, who used to live above Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool at a previous address in 2020, would hear sounds of “smacking” from their home.

“They were shockingly loud and would be followed by ‘gut-wrenching screams’ of young female children,” prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury.

“Over the screaming she would hear the mother shout, ‘shut up’ and sometimes the sounds of further smacking would be heard followed by shouting.”

The same neighbour said she would often hear children screaming, followed by their mother shouting “shut the f*** up” and “go to your room you f****** bastard”, the court heard.

“Ms Redwin would also frequently hear the mother refer to the children as ‘c****’,” the prosecutor said.

Ms Redwin said she heard shouting and screaming at “any time of the day or night”, but that she noticed it did not occur when the “father of the household” was at home, he continued.

She said she “often” said hello to Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, and that she thought he was “conscious of the noise his family made, because on occasions he would apologise for it”.

[15 October 2024 23:59 · Jabed Ahmed]

Sara Sharif hooded and beaten during two years of abuse, murder trial told

Sara Sharif was hooded, restrained and beaten with a belt buckle and pole in a campaign of abuse lasting more than two years before her death, the court heard.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said evidence, including a soiled nappy, makeshift hoods, and a variety of potential weapons such as rolling pins and a cricket bat, suggested more than one adult was involved.

A post-mortem examination found Sara had suffered dozens of injuries including “probable human bite marks”, an iron burn and scalding from hot water.

There was also evidence that she had been restrained with her head covered with “homemade hoods” comprised of parcel tape and plastic bags, jurors have heard.

Fingerprints allegedly belonging to her father, Sharif, were found on one of the bags that was tested by forensics and on the non-adhesive side of a bit of parcel tape.

[15 October 2024 21:59 · Jabed Ahmed]

Sara Sharif’s stepmother told sisters about violence in WhatsApps, court hears

Sara Sharif’s stepmother told her sisters about violence against the 10-year-old spanning at least two years before her death, saying “something happens to Sara I will not be able to forgive myself”, a court has heard.

Beinash Batool had blamed her husband Urfan Sharif for beating the 10-year-old “black” in a series of WhatsApp messages dating back to 2019, the Old Bailey was told.

But the prosecution alleged Batool, 30, minicab driver Sharif, 42, and his brother Faisal Malik, 29, all played a part in Sara’s death after being hooded, restrained, burned, bitten and hit with a belt buckle and pole.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said the messages Batool sent to her sisters showed “all was not well” in the household and cast Sharif as an “angry parent”.

In May 2021, she messaged her sister: “Urfan beat the crap out of Sara. She’s covered in bruises, literally beaten black.

“I feel really sorry for Sara, poor girl can’t walk. I really want to report him.”

[15 October 2024 21:44 · Jabed Ahmed]

Pictured: Note allegedly found by Sara Sharif’s body saying ‘It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter’

[15 October 2024 21:03 · Jabed Ahmed]

Sara Sharif began wearing a hijab to conceal her injuries, prosecution suggest

The Old Bailey heard that Sara Sharif began wearing a hijab to school in January 2023 and was the only one in her household to wear one.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury: “The prosecution suggest that the fact that Sara began to wear the hijab at around this time is indicative of the need to conceal injuries to her face and head from the outside world.”

The court heard that Sara’s primary school noticed a bruise under her left eye in June 2022 as well as a bruise on her chin and a dark mark on her right eye in March 2023.

When her year four and five teacher asked Sara about “two distinct bruises” in March 2023, the child “acted coy and tried to hide them”, Mr Elwyn Jones said.

He continued: “[The teacher] observed that Sara would often pull her hijab to hide her face if she did not want to speak or was being told off.

“Sara gave multiple conflicting stories as to how she got the bruises.”

(PA Media)

[15 October 2024 20:03 · Jabed Ahmed]

What trial heard yesterday

• The father of Sara Sharif fled to Pakistan after allegedly killing the 10-year-old and called police to say “I legally punished her and she died”, the court heard.

• The Old Bailey was told that Sara had suffered dozens of injuries including “probable human bite marks”, a burn from an iron and scald burns from hot water before her death. A post-mortem examination also revealed she had been “beaten” with objects and had suffered damage to the brain, jurors were told.

• Opening the trial on Monday, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said all three defendants had played a part in a “campaign of abuse” against Sara leading to her death.

• He said police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year after her father called police at 2.47am and confessed to killing her. During the eight-and-a-half minute call, he told the operator: “I’ve killed my daughter. I legally punished her, and she died.”

• On arrival at Hammond Road, police found the property was quiet, very tidy and seemingly empty before discovering the body next to a note in her father’s handwriting, Mr Emlyn Jones said. The note allegedly stated: “It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it. I am running away because I am scared.”

• The prosecutor told the jury that all three defendants “played their part” in the violence and it was “inconceivable” that just one of them had acted alone.

• Jurors were told Sharif’s case was that his wife, Batool, was responsible for Sara’s death and his confession was false to protect her.

• Batool accused Sharif of being a violent disciplinarian and she was fearful of her husband, Mr Emlyn Jones said.

• Malik’s case is that whoever was responsible it was not him and he was unaware of what was going on, the prosecutor added.

[15 October 2024 19:22 · Jabed Ahmed]

Full report: ‘Gut-wrenching screams’ and note that read ‘I lost it’: Sara Sharif jury told of campaign of abuse

Read the full report on the second day of the trial from our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin:

[15 October 2024 19:02 · Jabed Ahmed]

Sara Sharif’s father sobbed as he confessed to killing his daughter, court hears

Sara Sharif’s father sobbed as he confessed to killing his daughter, saying “I’m a cruel father” in a phone call to police, the court heard.

During the call from Pakistan, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, the taxi driver can be heard crying as he confessed to killing his daughter, refusing to reveal his location and saying he would hand himself in to Woking police station.

In the phone call, played to jurors on Tuesday, an emotional Sharif asked the operator to write down his address, spelling out his postcode, and telling them to “send someone” to his home on Hammond Road, Woking.

In the recording, Sharif said Sara had been “naughty” over the last three to four weeks and he was “giving her punishment” to “sort her out”, adding “I did something and she died”.

Earlier in the call, the operator can be heard asking Sharif “is everything okay?” to which he responds: “Nothing is okay.”

At one point, Sharif can be heard getting so emotional that the operator says he cannot understand what he is saying and tells him to “take a deep breath”.

Sharif continued: “I did legally punish my daughter and she died.

“I left the home in a panic.

“I killed my daughter. I killed my daughter.”

[15 October 2024 18:39 · Jabed Ahmed]

Listen: Sara Sharif’s father tells operator he’s killed daughter in harrowing 999 call

[15 October 2024 18:02 · Jabed Ahmed]

Neighbour heard ‘single high pitched scream’ two days before Sara died, court told

Neighbour heard a “single high-pitched scream” of “someone in pain” two days before Sara Sharif died, jurors were told.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said neighbours who spoke to police after the 10-year-old’s death said “they had never seen or heard anything which caused them any concern”.

However, a woman had recalled that “she heard a noise that she considered very much out of the ordinary run of the noise from a family house” on 6 August 2023, the prosecutor said.

He continued: “It was a single high-pitched scream, which lasted a couple of seconds and stopped suddenly.

“It sounded to her like the scream of someone in pain, as she put it ‘it didn’t sound good’.”

The prosecution allege Sara died two days later on 8 August last year and the defendants flew to Pakistan the following day.