Sara Sharif murder trial latest: Schoolgirl, 10, 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
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”.
‘Unusual’ injuries could not have occurred accidentally, says radiologist
Detailing her injuries, Professor Owen Arthurs described them as “unusual” and said they could not have occurred by accident or in a single event.
Asked for his professional opinion, he told jurors: “Many fractures can occur accidentally and many fractures can occur from a single event but in my opinion, most of the fractures in this case were very unusual and they cannot be explained by an accidental mechanism nor can they be explained by a single high impact trauma event.
“My opinion is that the most likely explanation for the constellation of injuries, including location and pattern, is multiple episodes of blunt force trauma impacted over several weeks.”
The Old Bailey had previously heard that Sara had suffered more than 70 injuries before her death, which had included bitemarks, burns and scalding.
Sara Sharif had suffered ‘multiple fractures’ in 25 locations
Sara Sharif had suffered “multiple unexplained fractures in 25 locations on the body”, a report by a paediatric radiologist had concluded.
Professor Owen Arthurs told the court that he had undertaken a skeletal survey which included an X-ray of every bone in her body followed by a CT scan.
He said that she had suffered “multiple injuries”, including fractures to her hyoid, right clavicle, left and right scapular, to her spine and ribs, elbow and hands.
Trial resumes
The trial of Sara Sharif’s father Urfan Sharif, stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle Faisal Malik has resumed.
Jurors are due to hear evidence from paediatric radiologist Professor Owen Arthurs.
In pictures: The family home where schoolgirl was found dead
Full transcript of Sara Sharif’s father’s phone call to police
Sara Sharif’s father cried as he confessed to killing his daughter in a phone call to police from Pakistan, a court has heard.
Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering 10-year-old Sara alongside her stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
On Thursday, jurors were played a recording of the eight-and-a-half-minute phone call Sharif made to the police non-emergency 101 number on 2.47am on August 10 2023, two days after Sara died.
Read the full article here:
Full transcript of Sara Sharif’s father’s phone call to police on August 10 2023
Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey.
Stepmother of Sara Sharif requests ‘earliest possible’ flights after child’s death
Sara Sharif had 71 injuries across her body
Giving evidence on Wednesday, forensic pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary said some of Sara’s external injuries, which included dozens of bruises, grazes and burns, were the result of “repetitive blunt trauma” and “blunt impact or solid pressure, or both.”
He told the court there were more than 71 injuries to the little girl’s body.
They included significant damage internally, including bleeding on her brain, multiple bruises on her lungs and multiple skeletal injuries, jurors heard.
Dr Cary presented his findings from a post-mortem examination of Sara’s body he carried out on August 15 2023 which took around three hours.
Sara had a height of 1.37 metres and a weight of 27 kilograms, with both measurements within the average bracket for a child her age but towards the lower end, the court heard.
In pictures: Courtroom drawings show defendants in the dock
Sara Sharif showed signs of starvation and suffered broken bone in neck weeks before death, jury told
Sara Sharif showed signs of starvation or the “rapid removal of food”, according to a pathologist who discovered an unusual indicator in her bone marrow, a jury was told.
A trial at the Old Bailey also heard how the 10-year-old schoolgirl had likely been strangled until a bone in her neck had broken, up to three months before she died last August.
It was one of many injuries the young girl suffered in an alleged “campaign of abuse”, which also included burns, broken bones and extensive bruising.
Read the full article from today’s court proceedings here:
Sara Sharif ‘suffered broken bone in her neck weeks before death’
Jurors were told that the fracture of the hyoid bone in her neck was likely to have occurred between six to 12 weeks before she was died
‘Gut-wrenching screams’ and note that read ‘I lost it’: Sara Sharif jury told of campaign of abuse
Schoolgirl Sara Sharif was forced to wear “homemade hoods” of plastic bags and parcel tape as she endured a campaign of abuse which lasted up to two years, a court heard.
The 10-year-old’s blood was found on a cricket bat and a vacuum cleaner at the family home, jurors at the Old Bailey were told.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC also alleged that bruises found on her body matched a belt buckle and plastic-coated metal pole found in an outhouse at the property – where police also found a rolling pin with traces of her DNA.
Read the full article from Tuesday here:
‘Gut-wrenching screams’ and note that read ‘I lost it’: Sara Sharif trial
Police discovered the schoolgirl’s blood on a cricket bat and bruises on her body matched a metal pole found in an outhouse, the court heard
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.