Guilty of murder of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was found dead in her home in Britain after being brutally tortured, her father and stepmother were judged on Wednesday (11.12.2024).
The case of the murder of the 10-year-old girl shocked Britain in 2023.
Her father, Urfan Sharif, aged 42, was convicted of murdering Sara Sharif along with his partner, Beynas Batul, aged 30. His brother and the 10-year-old’s uncle, 29-year-old Faisal Malik, was found guilty of causing or allowing the girl’s death.
Sarah lived a “daily hell” as he was slowly tortured to death over many months by Urfan Sharif, who was described in court as a psychopath and a “manipulative, violent bully”.
Police found Sarah Sharif’s body under a blanket on a bunk bed at her home in Woking, south-west London, on August 10, 2023, with dozens of injuries, including extensive bruising, burns and fractures.
The discovery came after Urfan Sharif called UK police from Pakistan to say that “he lawfully punished her and died”prosecutors said. He said that “he had no intention of killing her” but “he had hit her too hard.”
Urfan admitted that he bound Sarah with tape and beat her with a cricket bat, a metal pole and a mobile phone, while burning her with an iron and boiling water.
Police in Pakistan found the three suspects after an extensive search and flew them to the UK.
They were arrested on arrival at London Gatwick Airport in September 2023.
Her stepmother and uncle had refused to give evidence, while denying their involvement in the abuse.
Fractures all over her body – ‘Like she’d been kicked by a horse’
Speaking before the court in October, Professor Owen Arthurs, consultant in pediatric radiology at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said Sarah’s injuries were so severe it was as if she had “kick a horse”.
“Fractures of the spine (in children) are very rare, even in specialized trauma centers, and are usually caused by high impact and traumatic events such as car accidents, falls from a height or being kicked by a horse.”
According to Professor Arthurs, Sarah’s multiple injuries, including spinal fractures, were caused over a period of several weeks.