“Our family is the best in town. We spread love all around the world.” Those were the words scribbled by 10-year-old Sara Sharif in her red notebook, suggesting that the schoolgirl enjoyed a happy childhood with her father and stepmother.
Yet other notes hinted at a strict regime of discipline and fear in their Woking household, with Sara writing a letter to her father to apologise for “answering back”, writing:“Please forgive me I am so, so sorry.”
Nothing could have prepared jurors however for details of the obscene level of violence inflicted upon the little girl, who was repeatedly beaten, burnt and bitten during the final months of her life. She succumbed to her injuries on 8 August last year, having suffered a traumatic brain injury, 25 fractures, an ulcerated burn to her buttocks and scalding to her ankles.
Her father, Urfan Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool and his brother Faisal Malik all fled to Pakistan and were the subject of an international manhunt, until returning to the UK to be charged with her murder.
The two people who should have ensured her safety have now been found guilty of her murder, with Batool and Sharif facing life sentences. Meanwhile, her uncle has been convicted of causing or allowing her death.
Yet despite the shocking nature of her death, warning signs had been present for years that all was not right in the Sharif family home. Social services, police and the family courts all knew about past accusations of abuse levelled at Sharif but they went “absolutely nowhere” and did not prevent him from gaining custody of Sara.
Neighbours had reported screaming and shouting, as well as obscene language being used towards Sara. Her school teachers had commented on bruises and had approached Batool, yet no action was taken when Sara was removed from the classroom and homeschooled.
Even more shocking is the level of detail described by Batool to her sisters, with images shared of Sara’s bruised face. Despite this, she was encouraged not to go to social services, and the young girl remained a powerless victim to the abuse meted out with a cricket bat, belt and metal pole.
Urfan Sharif’s history of violence
Police records detail a string of allegations against Sharif by his ex-wife Olga Sharif, who is Sara’s mother, and two other ex-girlfriends. In December 2007, Sharif was arrested for false imprisonment, theft, criminal damage and common assault following allegations by an 18-year-old named Angelika.
In a police interview, Sharif denied the allegations and suggested she assaulted him. In March 2009, a 31-year-old named Anna made an allegation of false imprisonment and Sharif was arrested and interviewed again.
In November 2010, Sharif was suspected of assault following a complaint by Mrs Sharif’s mother who was concerned for her daughter. Mrs Sharif told police her husband had been violent in the home on more than one occasion, but Sharif claimed she had attacked him during an argument.
He was bailed and Mrs Sharif withdrew the allegation. Jurors heard another child he was connected with had suffered burns and bites in 2013 and 2014, although he was not directly accused of inflicting them.
Despite this, he was awarded custody of Sara after he separated from her mother, and the little girl moved to live with him and his new partner Batool.
Neighbours overhear screaming reach ‘fever pitch’
Chloe Redwin, who lived above the family between November 2022 and April 2023 told jurors that she overheard smacking and a “gut-wrenching scream” coming from their property.
She added that she would regularly hear Batool shouting “shut the f*** up”, “shut the f*** up you bastard” and “shut the f*** up you c***s” in response to a child screaming.
Rebecca Spencer lived in the same flat in West Byfleet, Surrey, between 2018 and 2020 and described sounds of crying, shouting, screaming and doors slamming and rattling coming from the Sharif residence.
She told jurors: “I would hear the stepmother shout at Sara because she shouted her name.
“I could tell that she (Batool) had lost her temper, there could have been a bang that could have been a smack, I don’t know.”
Ms Spencer told jurors the “general constant screaming and crying” once prompted her to take action. “On one occasion it was fever pitch so I went downstairs and said ‘is everything ok in here’?”
Batool replied “yes” before slamming the door in her face, the witness said.
The court heard Ms Spencer, who worked from home, had thought about making a formal report about the family downstairs but ultimately decided against it.
Batool’s sister’s awareness of abuse
Between 2020 and 2023, Batool sent her sister Qandeela Saboohi a number of distressing pictures and messages on WhatsApp which detailed the abuse inflicted on Sara.
Batool repeatedly complained to her sister that Sharif was hitting Sara for being “naughty”, “rude and rebellious” and because she had cut up his clothes, hidden keys and torn up documents.
They were accompanied by pictures of a grim-faced and bruised Sara, with the message: “Look what he’s doing. Delete the pictures.”
Ms Saboohi advised her to listen to the Koran, and when Batool talked about going to the police, told her to calm down.
Commenting on 10 photographs of Sara, she wrote: “This is how bad he is beating her … I feel really sorry for her. He beat the crap out of her.”
In May 2021, Batool told Ms Saboohi: “Not great in our house, it’s all a bit manic. Urfan beat the crap out of Sara and my mind is all in bits. I really want to report him.”
By 2022, Batool said she was planning on taking “legal advice” but was advised by her sister to give it time and not rush.
She also wrote that she was considering taking Sara out of school, was struggling to cover her bruises and that Sara was struggling to breathe and had soiled herself.
Concerns at Sara’s school
Jurors heard of concerns about Sara’s injuries at her school before she was home schooled last April, four months before her death.
The school recorded Sara had a bruise under her left eye in June 2022 and then in March 2023, a bruise on her chin and a dark mark on her right eye.
They contacted Children’s Single Point of Access for advice, and it was agreed that a referral to social services was needed. Despite this, her teacher Helen Simmons described her as a “happy child”, who at times would be “sassy”.
When she asked Sara about bruises last March, she gave conflicting explanations and pulled her hijab to hide her face.
