Dad, step-mum and uncle deny murdering 10-year-old Sara Sharif
The 10-year-old had suffered ‘multiple and extensive injuries’ over a ‘sustained and extended’ period of time.
The father, step-mother and uncle of Sara Sharif have pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey to murdering the 10-year-old.
Urfan Sharif, 41, travelled to Pakistan with his partner, Beinash Batool, 29, and brother, Faisal Malik, 28, a day before police discovered Sara’s body at a property in Woking on August 10.
A post-mortem examination found the youngster had suffered ‘multiple and extensive injuries’ over a ‘sustained and extended’ period of time.
All three defendants have been charged with causing or allowing the death of a child.
The trio had fled to Pakistan the day before Sara’s body was found and an international manhunt was launched to bring them back to the UK.
After five weeks on the run, they finally returned and were arrested by police on the plane shortly after they touched down on the runway at Gatwick Airport.
The couple had flown to Islamabad on one way tickets with Faisal and Sara’s five siblings, aged between one and 13 years old, on August 9, spending £500 per head.
Police in Pakistan worked alongside Interpol, the National Crime Agency, Foreign Office and the Crown Prosecution Service in their efforts to track the family down, raiding at least 20 homes during the search.
Officers eventually found the five children at Urfan’s father’s house in Jhelum on September 11 and they were then placed in a government-run care facility after a court hearing the following day.
Beinash had appeared in a short video in September alongside Urfan, who did not speak, in which she said ‘we are coming forward and presenting ourselves’ and described Sara’s death as an ‘incident’.
She added in the clip: ‘We are willing to cooperate with the UK authorities and fight our case in court.’
After the trio were arrested, Sara’s mother Olga Sharif spoke of her relief and told The Sun: ‘I am very happy that the police have made arrests. It is a huge relief and something I didn’t think would happen this quickly.
Timeline: Sara Sharif's murder
August 8: Sara’s father Urfan Sharif books one-way tickets to Pakistan.
August 9: Urfan flies to Islamabad with his wife Beinash Batool, his brother Faisal Malik and Sara’s five siblings.
August 10: Sara’s body is found at her home in Woking by Surrey Police. The group arrive in Pakistan and are thought to have then travelled to the city of Jhelum where they stayed for a few days.
August 15: Interpol issues a request to the Pakistani authorities to find the family but they are unable to track them down. An international manhunt is now in full flow.
September 6: Beinash and Urfan appear in a video, but Sara’s father says nothing. Beinash says Sara’s death was an ‘incident’ and that they are ‘willing to cooperate with UK authorities’.
September 9: Plane tickets are bought by suspected family members for Urfan, Beinash and Faisal to fly back to the UK from Slalkot.
September 11: Five children – Sara’s siblings – are found at Urfan’s father’s house in Jhelum.
September 12: The five children are place in a government-run care facility following a court hearing.
September 13: Urfan, his wife and brother leave Pakistan and fly back to the UK via Dubai. They are all arrested on suspicion of murder after the plane lands at Gatwick Airport at around 7.30pm.
September 15: All three are charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child. They appear at Guildford Magistrates’ Court and the case is referred to crown court.
December 14: All three plead not guilty of Sara’s murder at the Old Bailey.
‘I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders but there is still a long way to go before I feel closure.
‘What is important now is that the police can investigate with no information being kept back or put to the side. This needs everyone to work together.
‘I have had to wait a long time for this and I didn’t know if they would ever be able to investigate what happened to my daughter.’
Speaking on Polish television programme Uwaga on the TVN Channel, Ms Sharif described the horrifying experience of having to identify her daughter’s body in the mortuary.
She told the programme: ‘One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised.
‘Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.’
She explained she had separated from her husband in 2015, and Sara and her older brother had been living with her until 2019 when the family court ruled they should live with their father.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE : Girl, 14, dies after falling from London tower block
MORE : Tourist who died turned away from hospital over ‘concerns about large bill’
MORE : Why my 4-year-old’s handing out rucksacks to London’s homeless this December