Father and stepmother were convicted on Wednesday of murdering their 10-year-old daughter Sara Sharif in London.
Urfan Sharif, 42, and Beinash Batool, 30, will receive their sentences on Tuesday for last year’s killing. The court also found Urfan’s brother, Faisal Malik, 29, guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death.
Police found Sara’s body on August 10, 2023, covered with a blanket in a bunk bed at her Woking home, southwest of London. Her body showed multiple injuries, including widespread bruising, burns and broken bones. The post-mortem indicated she did not die naturally.
The three adults left for Islamabad one day before authorities discovered Sara’s body.
Urfan Sharif later called British police from Pakistan, stating he had “legally punished her, and she died.” During the call, he told the operator that although he hadn’t meant to kill her, he had “beat her up too much.”
Despite Batool and Malik’s claims of innocence, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones argued that all three defendants lived in the house with Sara, making it “inconceivable” for just one person to be responsible.
In court, Sharif first blamed Batool before accepting “full responsibility.” He confessed to strangling her and inflicting injuries with a cricket bat and other objects.
The prosecution highlighted how violence had become normalised, evidenced by the family’s lack of reaction to her bruises at a gathering.
Libby Clark from the Crown Prosecution Service noted the particularly affecting aspects were the footage showing Sara’s joy despite her injuries, and her known happiness at school.
Justice John Cavanagh postponed sentencing until Tuesday, acknowledging the “extremely stressful and traumatic” nature of the case for jurors.