Sara Sharif murder trial latest: Post-mortem evidence to be heard after court told of catalogue of abuse
Fingerprints allegedly belonging to 10-year-old’s father Urfan Sharif found on one of bags, second day of trial hears
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Sara Sharif’s head was covered with “homemade hoods” made of plastic bags and parcel tape in the weeks before her death, a court has heard.
The Old Bailey also heard on Tuesday that fingerprints allegedly belonging to the 10-year-old’s father, Urfan Sharif, were found on one of the bags and a bit of parcel tape.
On Wednesday, jurors are expected to hear details of her post-mortem examination.
Earlier, the Old Bailey heard neighbour Chloe Redwin, who used to live above the family at a previous address in 2020, would hear “shockingly loud” sounds of “smacking” from their home followed by “gut-wrenching screams”, and thought Urfan Sharif was “conscious of the noise his family made, because on occasions he would apologise for it”.
Surrey Police discovered Sara dead in a bedroom at her home in Woking on 10 August last year.
The court heard on Monday that the child was found with “disturbing” injuries that included bitemarks, scalding and broken bones in what was described as a “campaign of abuse”.
Urfan Sharif, 42, is standing trial for her murder before Mr Justice Cavanagh alongside Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29.
Pictured: Note allegedly found by Sara Sharif’s body saying ‘It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter’
Full transcript of Sara Sharif’s father’s phone call to police on August 10 2023
Listen: Sara Sharif’s father tells operator he’s killed daughter in harrowing 999 call
The key dates in Sara Sharif’s tragic death after alleged ‘campaign of abuse’
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”.
Ring doorbell removed before family fled, jury told
The court heard that a video doorbell had been removed from the family home before the defendants fled to Pakistan – leaving Sara Sharif’s body inside.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury the doorbell could have provided a “rich source of evidence” of all the comings and goings in the month before the 10-year-old was killed.
“What is odd is that when the police went to the house after Urfan Sharif’s phone call about Sara….that Ring doorbell had been removed,” he said.
The doorbell’s bracket was still visible to the exterior of the front door, the jury were told.
“You might want to ask yourselves why that would have been done and what its removal might tell you about the presence of mind of whoever removed it,” he added.
Trial resumes
The trial has resumed at the Old Bailey.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC is expected to continue opening the crown’s case against the defendants on Tuesday.
Sara Sharif’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 29, and uncle Faisal Malik, 28, deny murdering the 10-year-old and causing or allowing her death.
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.
Sara Sharif murder trial set to continue for second day today
The Sara Sharif murder trial is set to continue for a second day today.
The 10-year-old’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 29, and uncle Faisal Malik, 28, are charged with her murder and causing or allowing her death.
The trial is due to go on for seven weeks at the Old Bailey in central London.
Full story: Sara Sharif’s father called 999 to admit he ‘beat her up’ before fleeing to Pakistan leaving body in bunk bed
Sara Sharif’s father told police “I’ve killed my daughter” and that he had “legally punished” her after inflicting injuries that led to her death, a court has heard.
Urfan Sharif contacted Surrey Police on 999 in the early hours of 10 August last year, after he had fled to Pakistan leaving his daughter’s body at the family home in Woking, Surrey.
Officers discovered the body of the 10-year-old under a blanket on a bunk bed. She had suffered extensive injuries in a “campaign of abuse”, which included broken bones, burns and bruising.
My colleague Holly Evans reports:
Sara Sharif’s father called 999 to admit he ‘beat her up’ before fleeing to Pakistan
The 10-year-old had suffered multiple injuries including fractures, broken bones and bite marks
What did Urfan Sharif say in his 999 call?
In a harrowing phone call that lasts over eight minutes, jurors heard Urfan Sharif reporting his daughter’s death to Surrey Police, telling them: “I beat her up, it wasn’t my intention to kill her but I beat her up too much.”
He can be heard crying down the phone, pleading with officers to visit the address and saying: “Can you send someone, my daughter is alone.”
Asked what had happened, he said: “I think she was naughty over the last three, four weeks and I was giving her punishment to sort her out and I did something and she died.”
When asked if she was breathing, he said: “I tried to resuscitate her I tried to give her CPR everything but I failed, I panicked.
“She is dead I am telling you.”
He adds that he will return to the property and told the operator: “It happened 36 hours ago, I’m a cruel father.”
Key dates in Sara Sharif death after alleged ‘campaign of abuse’
Ten-year-old Sara Sharif died after an alleged “campaign of abuse” in the home she shared with her father, stepmother and uncle.
Here is a timeline of how events unfolded, according to the prosecution.
– April 2023
Father Urfan Sharif informs Sara’s school that she will be home-schooled with immediate effect.
– 6 April 2023
Sara and her family move to a three-bedroom house in Hammond Road in the Horsell area of Woking.
– 8 August 2023
8.38pm – A child sends a WhatsApp message to a school friend labelled “urgent”, saying that Sara had “just passed away”.
9.07pm – Beinash Batool, Sara’s stepmother, calls Southall Travel agency to ask about flights to Pakistan but after 50 minutes the call ends without flights being arranged.
10pm – Sharif contacts Nadeem Riaz, who works for a money transfer business, and says he needs a flight to Pakistan the next day.
– 9 August 2023
9.25am – CCTV captures Sharif and his family arriving at Heathrow Airport to take a flight to Pakistan at 2pm.
– 10 August 2023
2.47am – Sharif has arrived in Pakistan and phones police in the UK, saying: “I’ve killed my daughter. I legally punished her, and she died. She was naughty. I beat her up, it wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.”
Police go to the family home in Woking and find Sara’s body in a bed with a note by the pillow in Sharif’s handwriting.
– 15 August 2023
A post-mortem examination is undertaken which concludes Sara’s death was not a natural one. There were alleged signs of blunt force trauma inflicted over several weeks, bruises, iron burns to the buttocks, restraint marks and suspected human bite marks, jurors heard.
– 6 September 2023
Sharif and Batool appear in a short video clip provided to and broadcast by Sky News in which Batool refers to Sara’s death as an “incident”.
– 13 September 2023
Sharif, Batool and Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik take a flight into Gatwick and are met by police who arrest them on the plane.
– 14 October 2024
The three defendants, of Woking, Surrey, go on trial at the Old Bailey, having denied murder and causing or allowing Sara’s death.
What have the defendants said?
The defendants, of Hammond Road in Woking, have denied murder and causing or allowing the death of a child between December 16 2022 and August 9 2023.
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.
Addressing the jury, Mr Emlyn Jones said: “Ask yourselves, how could just one person have carried out so much abuse, so many assaults, without the others knowing about it and witnessing it with their own eyes?
“If any one of them was not a part of it, but had seen it, why then was nothing done to stop it, or report it?”
He continued: “Each of them denies that they were the one responsible for any of that violence and abuse.
“Each of them seeks to deflect the blame onto one or both of the others, to shift responsibility away from themselves, onto someone else. In other words, they are pointing the finger at each other.”
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.
What did Urfan Sharif write in his note?
In a handwritten note, which an expert had examined and concluded belonged to Sharif, he wrote on a piece of paper: “Love you Sara.”
A second piece read: “Whoever see this note its me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I am running away because I am scared but I promise that I will hand over myself and take punishment.’
“I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her but I lost it. My daughter is Muslim. Can you burry (sic) her like Muslim may be. I will be back before you finish the postmortem.”
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