Beinash Batool and Urfan Sharif found guilty of daughter Sarah Sharif's murder in UK
By Tessa Flemming
Topic:Homicide
14m ago14 minutes agoThu 12 Dec 2024 at 5:18am
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At just 10, Sara Sharif was a feisty girl who dreamed of being a princess, seen strumming a ukulele and singing happily.
In another video, she is seen dancing at home, carefree.
But just two days later, she was dead, her body found bearing horrific marks of abuse from those who were meant to protect her.
Now, her father and step mother have been found guilty of her murder in a British court.
Warning: This story contains graphic content that may be upsetting
'I killed my daughter!'
On August 10, 2023, UK police officers received a 999 call from a distraught man.
Responders tried to calm him down, asking what was wrong, before Urfan Sharif told them he had "legally punished" his child and she was dead.
He told the operator it was not his intention to murder Sara but he had "beat her up too much".
A note that reads 'I love you Sara'
A note Sharif left on Sara's pillow for police to find. (Supplied: Surrey Police )
Police kept Sharif on the phone for eight-and-a-half minutes as he grew increasingly insistent.
"I killed my daughter!" he repeated twice on the call.
Officers were already on their way to the Sharif home in Woking, Surrey, where they found an unimaginable scene.
Sara's father had left a note, reading 'I killed Sara', and asking for a traditional burial.
But Sharif, his brother and Sara's stepmother Beinash Batool were not there.
Two days prior, they had booked a plane for Pakistan.
Trio booked flights on day of murder
An international campaign was launched to arrest the three adults.
A composite image of three people
Beinash Batool (left), Urfan Sharif and his brother Faisal Malik in their mugshots. (Reuters: Surrey Police )
Police later released a phone call Batool made to a travel agency the day Sara is believed to have died.
"I'd like to inquire about ticket prices to Pakistan," she said.
Asked about a return, she insisted on a single-way fare.
"As early as possible," Batool stressed.
"Tomorrow?"
A woman in a blue hijab covers the face of a young girl.
Sara's siblings were put under Pakistani child custody while authorities searched for her father and stepmother. (AP: Tahir Mahmood)
After a joint investigation with Interpol and Pakistani authorities, police found the trio and they were returned to the UK on September 13, 2023, and arrested at Gatwick airport.
All three were subsequently charged on September 15, 2023, with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.
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Bite marks, burns and a 'campaign of abuse'
Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Chapman said in his 30 years of policing, he had never come across a case "with such injuries on a young person".
A post-mortem examination found Sara had 71 external injuries, including bruises, burns and human bite marks.
She had at least 25 fractures, including 11 to her spine.
Superintendent Chapman said there was also evidence Sara had been bound.
A young girl smiles with eyes closed in a black and white minnie mouse dress
Sara suffered more than 100 internal and external injuries. (Supplied: Surrey Police )
During the trial, Sharif, 42, initially blamed Batool, 30, for Sara’s death but later told jurors he took “full responsibility."
Lawyers for Batool, who did not give evidence, said Sharif was violent and controlling and that she was scared of him.
Sharif admitted throttling Sara with his hands and battering her with various objects.
The prosecution said the violence had became so normalised that no one reacted when Sara appeared with bruises at a family barbecue.
A young girl with a hood over her face
Prosecutors called the treatment of Sara a "campaign of abuse". (Supplied: Surrey Police)
They deemed the family's ongoing brutality towards the 10-year-old as a "campaign of abuse".
All three defendants lived in the same house as Sara and it was "inconceivable" that just one had acted alone, police argued.
School, police aware of abuse history
During the eight-week trial, jurors heard how child services, police and Sara's primary school were all concerned about her family life but that none were able to save her.
The BBC detailed that Sara's family was known to police before she was born, and she had been in foster case twice by the age of three.
Surrey Police were also aware of previous allegations of violence made against Sharif by former partners.
Despite those allegations, the BBC reported how a family court in 2019 agreed that Sara should live with Sharif and Batool after domestic violence allegations were made against Sara's mother, Olga Domin, 38.
A girl holds up a board with her writing
Sara's school tried to keep an eye on the 10-year-old. (Supplied: Surrey Police )
Sara's school would note bruises on the schoolgirl's body, to which she gave inconsistent explanations.
In 2022, Sara was briefly removed to be homeschooled before returning to school wearing a hijab.
By mid 2023, she was again removed and never returned.
Her head teacher, Jacquie Chambers, recalled Sara as being an "absolute chatterbox" who dreamed of being on The X Factor.
"We'll always remember her as that really confident, very smiley, full of energy and life, little girl," she said.
"She was a really vibrant, big character. And she would talk the ear off anyone who would listen."
A girl smiling in a school photo wearing a black hijab,
Sara started wearing a hijab to school shortly before she was taken out to be homeschooled. (Supplied: Surrey Police )
'I ask God to please take care of my little girl'
Despite all three adults presenting not guilty pleas, jurors found Sharif and Batool guilty on Tuesday.
Sara's uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing Sara's death.
Sharif and Batool will be sentenced on December 17.
A toddler with two dummies in her mouth.
Sara was only 10 when her life was cut short. (Supplied: Surrey Police )
Specialist prosecutor Libby Clark said the footage of Sara laughing and joking despite her extensive injuries was what made "the most affecting parts of the case".
Superintendent Chapman said it was a case that horrified people across the globe.
"The murder of a child is shocking, but the injuries, abuse and neglect that Sara suffered during her short life has made this case particularly disturbing," he said.
"Today is a day where justice for Sara has been served, and our thoughts remain with Sara's mother and her brothers and sisters at this extremely difficult time."
Sara Shariff's mother has voiced her pain after the murder convictions were handed down
Sara's memory as a young girl who loved singing and dancing will continue, her mother hopes. (Supplied: Surrey Police )
Sara's mother, Ms Domin, recalled the "angelic voice" of her daughter and her bright smile.
“My dear Sara, I ask God to please take care of my little girl, she was taken too soon," she said, upon the verdict being handed down.
“Everyone who knew Sara will know her unique character, her beautiful smile and loud laugh.
“She will always be in our hearts, her laughter will bring warmth to our lives.
"We miss Sara very much. Love you Princess.”
ABC/AP
Posted14m ago14 minutes agoThu 12 Dec 2024 at 5:18am
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