Sara Sharif trial latest: Father says he beat daughter with cricket bat as jury told violence was ‘normalised’
Urfan Sharif had earlier in the trial at the Old Bailey accused his wife, Beinash Batool, of tying up and beating his daughter
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Sara Sharif’s father inflicted “inhuman” violence upon his daughter, which was “completely normalised” in the family household, jurors have heard.
In a dramatic admission in the witness stand, Urfan Sharif told jurors he lied to them in a bid to blame his wife for the schoolgirl’s death.
Under questioning at the Old Bailey, Sharif said accusations he had made against Beinash Batool of tying up and beating his daughter were not true.
Asked if he had lied and tried to implicate someone else, the taxi driver replied: “Yes.”
He confessed to hitting the schoolgirl with a cricket bat as she was bound with packaging tape as well as to repeatedly throttling her with his bare hand – and to hitting her with a metal pole as she lay dying.
He continues to deny her murder, telling the court: “She died because of me. I didn’t want to kill her.”
During the early hours of 10 August last year, Sharif had called Surrey Police after fleeing to Pakistan to say he had beaten his daughter “too much” for being “naughty” and that she had died.
Sharif, Batool, and Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, all formerly of Hammond Road, Woking, Surrey, deny murder and causing or allowing the 10-year-old’s death and the trial continues.
Urfan Sharif left his phone in Pakistan
Urfan Sharif has been accused of “manipulating” the evidence in the case, after leaving his phone in Pakistan which could not be examined by police officers.
Reading out one of the few messages available from Sharif to his wife, it read: “Sara cut my laces. You and Sara have made my life. Once she is at home, sort her out before I do.”
“Do you agree that single sentence gives us an insight into Sara’s nightmare existence?”, he was asked. “Yes sir,” he responded.
“It’s the only message we have from you to your wife about Sara because we haven’t got your phones isn’t it?, Mr Emlyn-Jones said. “There would be tons of these wouldn’t there?
“You were discussing it in those messages but when you went to Pakistan you made sure those phones didn’t come and we are denied the treasure trove of what those messages would reveal to us.
“It is another way in which you have manipulated the case to try and make it go to your advantage, get rid of the evidence of those phones, the photos and videos.”
Sharif denied those allegations.
Beinash Batool accused of helping to ‘cover up’ Sharif’s crimes
Beinash Batool has been accused of trying to help her husband cover up his violent abuse of Sara, to ensure that he didn’t “get busted”.
Referring to a text message Batool sent her sister in May 2022 which read “He beat her up yesterday. I can’t send her to school looking like that”, the prosecutor claimed they had been conspiring together to maintain the abuse.
“You’re conspiring together aren’t you, to keep your violent treatment a secret from the rest of the world?”, Mr Emlyn-Jones asked. “I was wrong sir,” he responded.
Referring to Sharif’s repeated claims last week that his wife was a “psycho”, the prosecutor said: “It’s very easy to blame Beinash Batool if she was being every bit as bad as you.”
Sara made to wear nappies as a ‘solution to maintaining restraint’
Jurors have been told that Sara was discovered wearing a soiled nappy at the time of her death, despite being 10 years old.
“I’m sure you’ll agree with me 10 year old girls don’t normally need nappies do they,” the prosecutor asked, to which Sharif agreed.
The court had previously heard Sharif claim his wife had told him it was a “normal thing” for young girls to look control of their bowels, to which he responded he had been “selfish”.
“Why wouldn’t she, age 10, jump into the shower or bath? For some reason you had to do it. You had to come home and do it,” the prosecutor questioned - I did a few times sir
“So help us, is that because Sara was restrained and couldn’t get herself to the bathroom? Because she as being kept tied up? That would explain why she would have to wear a nappy?
“She was taped up and then there was a problem that if you leave a little girl taped up, she needs to go to the loo and soils herself, and then you beat her. That is disgraceful isn’t it Mr Sharif? The nappies were a solution to maintaining restraint weren’t they Mr Sharif?”, Mr Emlyn-Jones asked.
Sharif responded “no sir” to the above questions.
Sharif admits restraining Sara by her wrists and feet to beat her
Opening questioning by repeating Urfan Sharif’s previous admissions to Batool’s lawyer Caroline Carberry KC, prosecutor William Emlyn-Jones KC asked: “In the last few weeks of Sara’s life, there were occasions she was bound with tape?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“And then she said bound by you?”
“ Yes,” Sharif said.
“You are accepting that?”, Mr Emlyn-Jones probed to which Sharif agreed.
The taxi driver denied that the two other defendants assisted him in restraining the schoolgirl.
“You’re taking that one?,” the prosecutor asked. “Yes,” he replied.
He admitted that he had bound his daughter by the hands and wrists and had then beaten her with a pole.
“We have to imagine Sara being restrained by packing tape, if she wasn’t defencless enough against you with a weapon Mr Sharif, and when bound you beat her with the pole yes?”, the prosecutor asked.
“Yes sir,” he admitted while shaking his head.
Trial resumes
The trial of Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik has resumed at the Old Bailey.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates.
What is set to happen today?
The cross-examination of Urfan Sharif is set to resume once again, with prosecutor William Emlyn-Jones KC to continue questioning.
On Thursday, he called the taxi driver a “coward” as jurors heard that violence was “completely normalised” within their household, as Sara’s father admitted using a cricket bat on his daughter.
Recap: ‘Inhuman’ violence dished out to Sara Sharif became ‘normalised’ by adults in her home
The “inhuman” violence meted out to Sara Sharif was “completely normalised” in the family with all three adults “in on it”, jurors have heard.
Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, his wife Beinash Batool, 30, and brother Faisal Malik, 29, are accused of being party to years-long abuse which culminated in her death last August.
The 10-year-old was found dead at the family home in Woking, Surrey, the day after the defendants fled to Pakistan, the Old Bailey has heard.
Read yesterday’s full court report here:
‘Inhuman’ violence dished out to Sara Sharif by adults in her home, court told
Urfan Sharif accepted he was a ‘coward’ and admitted beating his daughter after she vomited or soiled herself
Listen: Sara Sharif’s father tells 999 operator he’s killed daughter
Sharif accused of being the ‘common denominator’
On Thursday, Michael Ivers KC, for Malik, questioned Sharif about evidence that Sara was the second child connected with him to suffer bite marks and iron burns.
He said: “What are the chances that two children you are connected with ended up with burns from a domestic iron and bite marks?”
Sharif replied: “I was not blamed for that. It wasn’t me. I did not bite.”
Mr Ivers asserted: “Of course it’s not a coincidence, you are the common denominator.
“Did you tell someone to do so? Did you have an idea how she (Sara) should be punished? Is that the truth of all of this?”
Sharif replied: “There are certain things I can’t explain. I’ve got no words.”
In pictures: Who was Sara Sharif?
