Sara Sharif trial latest: Father admits lying to blame wife for tying and beating daughter before brutal death
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 has told jurors he lied to them in a bid to blame his wife for his daughter’s death.
Under questioning at the Old Bailey, Urfan 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.”
On Wednesday, he told jurors he “takes full responsibility” for killing the 10-year-old after brutally beating her, as he stands trial for her murder.
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.
Father admits trying to ‘blame’ his wife for daughter’s death
Under questioning, Sharif admitted that he had lied in order to “blame” Beinash Batool for Sara’s death, and had accused her of tying up and beating his daughter.
Given the nature of Sara’s injuries, Sharif admitted he had never broken a bone and had not experienced its pain.
“I don’t want to upset people but she must have screamed and cried and heavens know what and you did those,” Mr Ivers KC said. “Yes sir,” he responded.
“And for a whole week you tried to blame someone else for what you did?”. He replied: “Yes sir.”
“It’s not just you lied, you lied and then tried to implicate someone else,” Mr Ivers said, to which he again confirmed: “Yes sir.”
Urfan Sharif admits lying during cross-examination
Returning to the witness stand, Sharif responded “I was wrong” when asked why he had not told the truth during his earlier evidence by Malik’s lawyer Michael Ivers KC.
When asked “Wrong in what sense? Tell us some of the things that were wrong?”, he responded: “Everything was wrong.”
However, he insisted that his tearful response to questioning had been “real” and that his “pain” over his daughter’s death was genuine.
In a heated interaction, Mr Ivers KC said: “Your actions weren’t you mourning the loss of your daughter, it’s you seeking to persuade these 12 people of a pack of lies, isn’t it?
He responded: “I did lie. You can’t imagine my pain, I’m a bad dad, I’m a very bad dad but I’m still a father.”
Trial resumes
The trial of Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik for the murder of Sara Sharif has resumed.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates from court.
What can we expect today?
Urfan Sharif is set to take to the stand once again for cross-examination, with his brother Faisal Malik’s lawyer set to continue questioning.
William Emlyn-Jones KC, the prosecutor, is then set to re-examine Sharif following his dramatic admissions on Wednesday.
While denying murdering his 10-year-old daughter, the taxi driver admitted:
- Using brown packing tape to bind his daughter before beating her with a pole or a cricket bat
- Repeatedly hitting her over the head with a mobile phone and tightening his hands around her neck on more than one occasion
- He accepted that he had repeatedly injured his daughter, but denied that he had killed her, saying he “wasn’t thinking”
- Sharif denied using his Marks and Spencer belt to throttle her, and denied burning her buttocks and biting her arm
Full story: Sara Sharif’s father ‘takes full responsibility’ for her death in dramatic courtroom admission
Sara Sharif’s father has told jurors he “takes full responsibility” for the death of his 10-year-old daughter.
In a dramatic appearance at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, the taxi driver said “I accept every single thing” while his wife, Beinash Batool, sobbed in the dock.
During the early hours of 10 August last year, Mr 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.
Read the full story here:
Sara Sharif’s father ‘takes full responsibility’ for her death in dramatic admission
Urfan Sharif says his 10-year-old daughter ‘died because of me’ – but continues to deny murder
Watch: Police bodycam footage from night Sara Sharif’s body was discovered
Sara Sharif’s stepmother was victim of ‘honour-based abuse’, court told
Sara Sharif’s father was attracted to her stepmother because she was a vulnerable young victim of “honour-based abuse”, a court has heard.
Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial for Sara’s murder, along with his wife Beinash Batool, 30, and brother Faisal Malik, 29.
On Tuesday, Batool’s lawyer rejected Sharif’s claim that she was violent towards Sara, saying he was the one who was controlling, abusive and manipulative.
Read the full article here:
Sara Sharif’s stepmother was victim of ‘honour-based abuse’, court told
Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial for Sara’s murder, along with his wife Beinash Batool, 30, and brother Faisal Malik, 29.
Sharif tells jurors: ‘I didn’t want to kill her’
After his dramatic admission on Wednesday, Sharif asked for the murder charge against him to be put to him again but after a lunchbreak appeared to change his mind and insisted he was not guilty.
He told jurors: “I did not want to hurt her. I didn’t want to harm her.”
Ms Carberry responded: “But you did harm her. What did you intend when you took a cricket bat to a 10-year-old girl?”
The defendant said: “I did wrong. I didn’t think anything.”
Ms Carberry asked: “Do you accept that you killed her?”
Sharif said: “She died because of me. I didn’t want to kill her.”
In pictures: The family home where Sara Sharif was killed
Recap: What happened to Sara Sharif?
Sara was found dead in a bunkbed at the family home in Woking, Surrey, last August 10, the day after her father, stepmother and uncle fled to Pakistan.
Urfan Sharif had phoned police on arrival at Islamabad and admitted he had beaten Sara “too much”, having left a written confession on a pillow beside her body.
A post-mortem examination found she had suffered dozens of injuries including at least 25 broken bones, human bite marks, and burns on her bottom and feet.
The defendants were arrested on a plane at Gatwick Airport when they returned to the UK last September 13.
