Sara Sharif suffered two traumatic brain injuries inflicted two to five days before she died, a court has heard.
A pathologist has detailed 71 recent injuries including bruises, abrasions, skin ulcers consistent with burns, probable bite marks and an incised wound consistent with sharp force trauma on her left arm.
On the third day of her murder trial on Wednesday, jurors were shown graphics outlining a string of injuries found on the 10-year-old’s body, with a pathologist also detailing skeletal injuries.
The Old Bailey previously heard her head was covered with “homemade hoods” made of plastic bags and parcel tape in the weeks before her death.
Fingerprints allegedly belonging to the schoolgirl’s father, Urfan Sharif, were found on one of the bags and a bit of parcel tape.
Earlier, the Old Bailey heard neighbour Chloe Redwin, who used to live above the family at a previous address in 2020, would hear “shockingly loud” sounds of “smacking” from their home followed by “gut-wrenching screams”, and thought Urfan Sharif was “conscious of the noise his family made, because on occasions he would apologise for it”.
Urfan Sharif, 42, is standing trial for her murder before Mr Justice Cavanagh alongside Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29.
Key Points
- Schoolgirl suffered at least 71 fresh injuries although true total unknown, jury told
- Pathologist details string of bruises, burns and injuries found on Sara Sharif’s body
- Sara Sharif’s head covered with ‘home-made hoods’ of plastic bags and parcel tape, court told
- Pictured: Note found by Sara’s body saying ‘It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter’
- Police officer recalls finding Sara’s body under neatly placed white sheet
Sara Sharif’s death was caused by multiple injuries and neglect, court told
15:41
Amy-Clare Martin
Pathologist Dr Cary concluded the 10-year-old died from complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect, the court heard.
Her death was described as “cumulative” rather than being attributed to one specific injury or incident.
However the pathologist said she may have gradually succumbed to two traumatic brain injuries she suffered two to five days earlier if she was left unattended.
In his conclusions he noted “widespread” injuries to the skin’s surface, including puncture wounds, bruising and internal injuries to the abdomen.
“These findings are in keeping with significant and repetitive blunt force trauma,” he told the Old Bailey, adding the that pattern of injuries are in keeping with the use of an “instrument”.
Sara suffered two traumatic brain injuries 2 to 5 days before her death, court told
15:15
Amy-Clare Martin
The schoolgirl suffered two traumatic brain injuries inflicted two to five days before she died, the court heard.
The head injuries could have caused neurological symptoms including loss of consciousness, concussion, headaches, irritability, vomiting and seizures. These “might have contributed to the death together with other injuries”, the jury were told.
Shortly before her death her brain was deprived of oxygen causing a separate ischemic brain injury which was described as a potential “terminal event” by Dr Cary.
She also suffered bruising consistent with blunt force impact to the abdomen, Dr Cary said.
Schoolgirl suffered ‘conspicuous haemorrhage’ at site of shoulder-to-shoulder bruising, court told
14:20
Amy-Clare Martin
Detailing the internal injuries, pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary said he found evidence of “conspicuous haemorrhage” at the site of “intense” bruising on Sara’s chest.
The expert agreed the injury was a “broad collar” of bruising over the front of the schoolgirl’s upper chest under questioning by prosecutor Mr Emlyn Jones.
He previously described the injury as “intense purplish red bruising” around her neck and torso. He said these could have been the result of either “blunt impact or solid pressure, or both”.
Pictured: Note found next to Sara Sharif’s body
14:00
Holly Evans
The key dates in Sara Sharif’s tragic death
13:30
Holly Evans
Ten-year-old Sara Sharif died after an alleged “campaign of abuse” in the home she shared with her father, stepmother and uncle.
A court heard on Tuesday that a “high pitched scream” was heard two days before the 10-year-old was killed and her family fled to Pakistan.
Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his daughter’s murder alongside Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
Police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year following a call from Sharif in Pakistan saying he “beat her up too much” for being “naughty”, the court has heard.
Read the full article here:
Schoolgirl suffered at least 71 fresh injuries although true total unknown, jury told
13:01
Amy-Clare Martin
Jurors were taken through a catalogue of at least 71 recent injuries found on Sara Sharif’s body by a pathologist.
However Dr Cary told the Old Bailey that it is impossible to know if each mark was the result of one injury or multiple injuries, meaning the total figure is not known.
“There are multiple marks all over the body,” the expert told the court. They include bruises, abrasions, skin ulcers consistent with burns, probable bite marks and an incised wound consistent with sharp force trauma on her left arm, the court heard.
In addition, a CT scan revealed multiple skeletal injuries, the jury was told.
The schoolgirl was subjected to a “campaign of abuse” and suffered “brutal” injuries in the weeks before she died, it is alleged. All three defendants deny charges of murder and causing or allowing her death.
Full transcript of Sara Sharif’s father’s phone call to police
12:30
Holly Evans
Sara Sharif’s father cried as he confessed to killing his daughter in a phone call to police from Pakistan, a court has heard.
Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering 10-year-old Sara alongside her stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
On Thursday, jurors were played a recording of the eight-and-a-half-minute phone call Sharif made to the police non-emergency 101 number on 2.47am on 10 August 2023, two days after Sara died.
Here is the full transcript of the recording.
Pathologist details string of bruises, burns and injuries found on Sara Sharif’s body
12:04
Amy-Clare Martin
Jurors at the Old Bailey are being shown graphics outlining a string of injuries found on the 10-year-old schoolgirl’s body.
Dr Nathaniel Cary, who carried out the post-mortem, described finding “intense purplish red bruising” around her neck and torso.
Giving evidence, he said these would have been the result of either “blunt impact or solid pressure, or both”.
He also found bruising with “tram track features” on her torso. This was consistent with “being struck with an elongated object” he explained under questioning from prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC.
“That would produce a tram track type bruise.”
Multiple parallel transverse linear red marks found were also found elsewhere on her body. The expert said suffering a number of strikes was the “simplest explanation” for this type of injury.
The pathologist also found a number of skin ulcers consistent with burns, the jury were told. The injuries were described as a combination of older and fresher marks.
Listen: Sara Sharif's father tells 999 operator he's killed daughter
12:01
Holly Evans
Who are the defendants?
11:41
Holly Evans
Standing trial accused of Sara’s murder are her father, Urfan Sharif, his wife Beinash Batool and his brother, Faisal Malik.
All three had been living at the address in Hammond Road, Woking, with the proseuctor arguing it was “inconceivable” that just one of them had acted alone and been unaware of the abuse.
Sara Sharif’s blood found on cricket bat at home, court told
11:25
Holly Evans
Sara Sharif’s blood was found on a cricket bat and a vacuum cleaner at the family home, jurors at the Old Bailey were told on Tuesday.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC also alleged that bruises found on the 10-year-old’s body matched a belt buckle and plastic-coated metal pole found in an outhouse at the property, where police also found a rolling pin with traces of her DNA.
The schoolgirl was subjected to a “campaign of abuse” and suffered “brutal” injuries in the weeks before she died, it is alleged. All three defendants deny charges of murder and causing or allowing her death.
Stepmother of Sara Sharif requests ‘earliest possible’ flights after child’s death
11:14
Holly Evans
In pictures: Sara Sharif before her death
10:54
Holly Evans
Police officer recalls finding Sara’s body under neatly placed white sheet
10:14
Holly Evans
Police constable George Van Der Waart told the court on Tuesday that he was dispatched to the Sharif family home shortly before 3am on 10 August, following Mr Sharif’s 999 call.
Giving evidence, he said he entered through an unlocked rear door and found the downstairs clean with no signs of any disturbance.
He discovered Sara’s body on a bunk bed in an upstairs bedroom with a fan switched on, he added.
“There was a blanket on the bed and…underneath the white sheet I could see a human shaped figure,” he told the Old Bailey. “I pulled back the cover and underneath was the body of a 10-year-old girl.”
He described her as being “placed” on the bed, where she was lying on her back. Asked about the sheet, he added: “It was neat on top literally like it had been laid there.”
Police bodycam footage from night Sara Sharif's body was discovered
09:07
Holly Evans
Pictured: Note found by Sara’s body saying ‘It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter’
08:00
Jabed Ahmed
A note that was found by Sara Sharif’s body in her father’s handwriting has been pictured in court.
On arrival at the 10-year-old’s family home, police found the property was quiet, very tidy and seemingly empty before discovering her body next to a note in her father’s handwriting, the Old Bailey heard.
The note allegedly stated: “It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating.
“I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.
“I am running away because I am scared.”
Recap: What trial heard on Tuesday morning
06:02
Jabed Ahmed
- Schoolgirl Sara Sharif was made to wear a ‘home-made hood’ of plastic bags and parcel tape, the prosecution allege.
- The 10-year-old’s blood was found on a cricket bat and a vacuum cleaner at the family home, the court heard.
- Bruises found on Sara’s body matched a belt buckle and plastic-coated metal pole found in an outhouse at the property - where police also found a rolling pin with traces of her DNA, the jury heard.
- A neighbour heard a “high-pitched scream” two days before Sara was killed, court told.
- Another neighbour at a previous address claimed she heard “smacking” sounds followed by “gut-wrenching” screams at the family home.
- Sara Sharif began wearing a hijab to school in January 2023 “to conceal injuries to her face and head from the outside world,” the prosecution suggested.
Ring doorbell removed before family fled, jury told
04:01
Jabed Ahmed
The court heard that a video doorbell had been removed from the family home before the defendants fled to Pakistan – leaving Sara Sharif’s body inside.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury the doorbell could have provided a “rich source of evidence” of all the comings and goings in the month before the 10-year-old was killed.
“What is odd is that when the police went to the house after Urfan Sharif’s phone call about Sara….that Ring doorbell had been removed,” he said.
The doorbell’s bracket was still visible to the exterior of the front door, the jury were told.
“You might want to ask yourselves why that would have been done and what its removal might tell you about the presence of mind of whoever removed it,” he added.
Neighbour heard sounds of ‘smacking’ followed by ‘gut-wrenching screams’, court told
02:01
Jabed Ahmed
The court heard that a former neighbour, Chloe Redwin, who used to live above Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool at a previous address in 2020, would hear sounds of “smacking” from their home.
“They were shockingly loud and would be followed by ‘gut-wrenching screams’ of young female children,” prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury.
“Over the screaming she would hear the mother shout, ‘shut up’ and sometimes the sounds of further smacking would be heard followed by shouting.”
The same neighbour said she would often hear children screaming, followed by their mother shouting “shut the f*** up” and “go to your room you f****** bastard”, the court heard.
“Ms Redwin would also frequently hear the mother refer to the children as ‘c****’,” the prosecutor said.
Ms Redwin said she heard shouting and screaming at “any time of the day or night”, but that she noticed it did not occur when the “father of the household” was at home, he continued.
She said she “often” said hello to Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, and that she thought he was “conscious of the noise his family made, because on occasions he would apologise for it”.
Sara Sharif hooded and beaten during two years of abuse, murder trial told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 23:59
Jabed Ahmed
Sara Sharif was hooded, restrained and beaten with a belt buckle and pole in a campaign of abuse lasting more than two years before her death, the court heard.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said evidence, including a soiled nappy, makeshift hoods, and a variety of potential weapons such as rolling pins and a cricket bat, suggested more than one adult was involved.
A post-mortem examination found Sara had suffered dozens of injuries including “probable human bite marks”, an iron burn and scalding from hot water.
There was also evidence that she had been restrained with her head covered with “homemade hoods” comprised of parcel tape and plastic bags, jurors have heard.
Fingerprints allegedly belonging to her father, Sharif, were found on one of the bags that was tested by forensics and on the non-adhesive side of a bit of parcel tape.
Sara Sharif’s stepmother told sisters about violence in WhatsApps, court hears
Tuesday 15 October 2024 21:59
Jabed Ahmed
Sara Sharif’s stepmother told her sisters about violence against the 10-year-old spanning at least two years before her death, saying “something happens to Sara I will not be able to forgive myself”, a court has heard.
Beinash Batool had blamed her husband Urfan Sharif for beating the 10-year-old “black” in a series of WhatsApp messages dating back to 2019, the Old Bailey was told.
But the prosecution alleged Batool, 30, minicab driver Sharif, 42, and his brother Faisal Malik, 29, all played a part in Sara’s death after being hooded, restrained, burned, bitten and hit with a belt buckle and pole.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said the messages Batool sent to her sisters showed “all was not well” in the household and cast Sharif as an “angry parent”.
In May 2021, she messaged her sister: “Urfan beat the crap out of Sara. She’s covered in bruises, literally beaten black.
“I feel really sorry for Sara, poor girl can’t walk. I really want to report him.”
Pictured: Note allegedly found by Sara Sharif’s body saying ‘It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter’
Tuesday 15 October 2024 21:44
Jabed Ahmed
Sara Sharif began wearing a hijab to conceal her injuries, prosecution suggest
Tuesday 15 October 2024 21:03
Jabed Ahmed
The Old Bailey heard that Sara Sharif began wearing a hijab to school in January 2023 and was the only one in her household to wear one.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury: “The prosecution suggest that the fact that Sara began to wear the hijab at around this time is indicative of the need to conceal injuries to her face and head from the outside world.”
The court heard that Sara’s primary school noticed a bruise under her left eye in June 2022 as well as a bruise on her chin and a dark mark on her right eye in March 2023.
When her year four and five teacher asked Sara about “two distinct bruises” in March 2023, the child “acted coy and tried to hide them”, Mr Elwyn Jones said.
He continued: “[The teacher] observed that Sara would often pull her hijab to hide her face if she did not want to speak or was being told off.
“Sara gave multiple conflicting stories as to how she got the bruises.”
What trial heard yesterday
Tuesday 15 October 2024 20:03
Jabed Ahmed
- The father of Sara Sharif fled to Pakistan after allegedly killing the 10-year-old and called police to say “I legally punished her and she died”, the court heard.
- The Old Bailey was told that Sara had suffered dozens of injuries including “probable human bite marks”, a burn from an iron and scald burns from hot water before her death. A post-mortem examination also revealed she had been “beaten” with objects and had suffered damage to the brain, jurors were told.
- Opening the trial on Monday, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said all three defendants had played a part in a “campaign of abuse” against Sara leading to her death.
- He said police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year after her father called police at 2.47am and confessed to killing her. During the eight-and-a-half minute call, he told the operator: “I’ve killed my daughter. I legally punished her, and she died.”
- On arrival at Hammond Road, police found the property was quiet, very tidy and seemingly empty before discovering the body next to a note in her father’s handwriting, Mr Emlyn Jones said. The note allegedly stated: “It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it. I am running away because I am scared.”
- The prosecutor told the jury that all three defendants “played their part” in the violence and it was “inconceivable” that just one of them had acted alone.
- Jurors were told Sharif’s case was that his wife, Batool, was responsible for Sara’s death and his confession was false to protect her.
- Batool accused Sharif of being a violent disciplinarian and she was fearful of her husband, Mr Emlyn Jones said.
- Malik’s case is that whoever was responsible it was not him and he was unaware of what was going on, the prosecutor added.
Full report: ‘Gut-wrenching screams’ and note that read ‘I lost it’: Sara Sharif jury told of campaign of abuse
Tuesday 15 October 2024 19:22
Jabed Ahmed
Read the full report on the second day of the trial from our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin:
Sara Sharif’s father sobbed as he confessed to killing his daughter, court hears
Tuesday 15 October 2024 19:02
Jabed Ahmed
Sara Sharif’s father sobbed as he confessed to killing his daughter, saying “I’m a cruel father” in a phone call to police, the court heard.
During the call from Pakistan, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, the taxi driver can be heard crying as he confessed to killing his daughter, refusing to reveal his location and saying he would hand himself in to Woking police station.
In the phone call, played to jurors on Tuesday, an emotional Sharif asked the operator to write down his address, spelling out his postcode, and telling them to “send someone” to his home on Hammond Road, Woking.
In the recording, Sharif said Sara had been “naughty” over the last three to four weeks and he was “giving her punishment” to “sort her out”, adding “I did something and she died”.
Earlier in the call, the operator can be heard asking Sharif “is everything okay?” to which he responds: “Nothing is okay.”
At one point, Sharif can be heard getting so emotional that the operator says he cannot understand what he is saying and tells him to “take a deep breath”.
Sharif continued: “I did legally punish my daughter and she died.
“I left the home in a panic.
“I killed my daughter. I killed my daughter.”
Listen: Sara Sharif’s father tells operator he’s killed daughter in harrowing 999 call
Tuesday 15 October 2024 18:39
Jabed Ahmed
Neighbour heard ‘single high pitched scream’ two days before Sara died, court told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 18:02
Jabed Ahmed
Neighbour heard a “single high-pitched scream” of “someone in pain” two days before Sara Sharif died, jurors were told.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said neighbours who spoke to police after the 10-year-old’s death said “they had never seen or heard anything which caused them any concern”.
However, a woman had recalled that “she heard a noise that she considered very much out of the ordinary run of the noise from a family house” on 6 August 2023, the prosecutor said.
He continued: “It was a single high-pitched scream, which lasted a couple of seconds and stopped suddenly.
“It sounded to her like the scream of someone in pain, as she put it ‘it didn’t sound good’.”
The prosecution allege Sara died two days later on 8 August last year and the defendants flew to Pakistan the following day.
Pictured: Note found by Sara’s body saying ‘It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter’
Tuesday 15 October 2024 17:18
Tara Cobham
A note that was found by Sara Sharif’s body in her father’s handwriting has been pictured in court.
On arrival at the 10-year-old’s family home, police found the property was quiet, very tidy and seemingly empty before discovering her body next to a note in her father’s handwriting, the Old Bailey heard.
The note allegedly stated: “It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating.
“I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.
“I am running away because I am scared.”
Stepmother told sister Urfan Sharif beat Sara ‘black’ in messages dating back to 2019
Tuesday 15 October 2024 16:17
Amy-Clare Martin
Sara Sharif’s stepmother told her sister if “something happens to Sara I will not be able to forgive myself” in messages documenting two-years of abuse, the court heard.
Beinash Batool had blamed her husband Urfan Sharif for beating the 10-year-old “black” in a series of WhatsApp messages dating back to 2019, the Old Bailey was told.
In May 2021, she messaged her sister: “Urfan beat the crap out of Sara. She’s covered in bruises, literally beaten black.
“I feel really sorry for Sara, poor girl can’t walk. I really want to report him.”
However the prosecution allege Ms Batool, 30, minicab driver Mr Sharif, 42, and his brother Faisal Malik, 29, all played a part in Sara’s death.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told jurors: “As a minimum, it shows that Sara was being hurt and injured as long ago as spring of 2021 - so that is more than two years before her death - and that Beinash Batool was aware and even on her version of events, she didn’t stop it.”
In February 2022, the court heard she told another sister that Mr Sharif was “beating Sara up ... ‘cos she’s being naughty”, adding: “Something happens to Sara I will not be able to forgive myself.”
That summer Ms Batool complained that she could not cover up the bruises, saying: “He beat Sara up yesterday and I can’t send her to school on Monday looking like that.”
Sara was taken out of school in April 2023 and died four months later.
Police officer recalls finding Sara’s body under neatly placed white sheet
Tuesday 15 October 2024 15:50
Amy-Clare Martin
Police constable George Van Der Waart told the court he was dispatched to the Sharif family home shortly before 3am on 10 August, following Mr Sharif’s 999 call.
Giving evidence, he said he entered through an unlocked rear door and found the downstairs clean with no signs of any disturbance.
He discovered Sara’s body on a bunk bed in an upstairs bedroom with a fan switched on, he added.
“There was a blanket on the bed and…underneath the white sheet I could see a human shaped figure,” he told the Old Bailey. “I pulled back the cover and underneath was the body of a 10-year-old girl.”
He described her as being “placed” on the bed, where she was lying on her back. Asked about the sheet, he added: “It was neat on top literally like it had been laid there.”
Urfan Sharif’s 999 call played to court
Tuesday 15 October 2024 15:26
Amy-Clare Martin
In a harrowing phone played to the court, jurors heard Urfan Sharif reporting his daughter’s death to Surrey Police, telling them: “I beat her up, I it wasn’t my intention to kill her, but...I beat her up too much.”
He can be heard crying down the phone, pleading with officers to visit the address and saying: “Can you send someone, my daughter is alone.”
Asked what had happened, he said: “I think she was naughty over the last, three four weeks and I was giving her punishment, but she… to sort her out.”
When asked if she was breathing, he said: “I tried to, to give her CPR, everything but I fail [sic], I left in a panic... She is dead I am telling you.”
He adds that he will return to the property and told the operator it happened about 36 hours ago. He added: “I’m a cruel father.”
Recap: What trial heard this morning
Tuesday 15 October 2024 15:11
Amy-Clare Martin
- Schoolgirl Sara Sharif was made to wear a ‘home-made hood’ of plastic bags and parcel tape, the prosecution allege.
- The 10-year-old’s blood was found on a cricket bat and a vacuum cleaner at the family home, the court heard.
- Bruises found on Sara’s body matched a belt buckle and plastic-coated metal pole found in an outhouse at the property - where police also found a rolling pin with traces of her DNA, the jury heard.
- A neighbour heard a “high-pitched scream” two days before Sara was killed, court told.
- Another neighbour at a previous address claimed she heard “smacking” sounds followed by “gut-wrenching” screams at the family home.
- Sara Sharif began wearing a hijab to school in January 2023 “to conceal injuries to her face and head from the outside world,” the prosecution suggested.
Sara Sharif’s blood found on cricket bat at home, court told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 14:26
Amy-Clare Martin
Sara Sharif’s blood was found on a cricket bat and a vacuum cleaner at the family home, jurors at the Old Bailey were told.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC also alleged that bruises found on the 10-year-old’s body matched a belt buckle and plastic-coated metal pole found in an outhouse at the property, where police also found a rolling pin with traces of her DNA.
The schoolgirl was subjected to a “campaign of abuse” and suffered “brutal” injuries in the weeks before she died, it is alleged. All three defendants deny charges of murder and causing or allowing her death.
‘I cannot even imagine what happened to make crying or screaming child become immediately silent,’ trial hears from neighbour
Tuesday 15 October 2024 14:00
Tara Cobham
A former neighbour of Sara Sharif and her family heard screaming and noises that sounded like “someone had been hit or smacked”, the trial at the Old Bailey heard on Tuesday.
Rebecca Spencer said she heard the noises “from the moment” the Sharif family moved into a flat on Eden Grove in West Byfleet in around 2018 to 2019, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told jurors.
He said Ms Spencer thought the “banging and rattling” sounded like “someone was banging on and pushing at a door” as if trying to open it.
Reading a statement from Ms Spencer, Mr Emlyn Jones said: “On the occasions I would hear these banging and rattling sounds, they would often be accompanied by the sounds of a child crying or a screaming, followed by complete silence.
“On those occasions I can only describe the silence as ‘deathly quiet’ and I cannot even imagine what had happened to make the crying or screaming child become immediately silent.”
Ms Spencer said she thought two of the defendants, Sara’s father and stepmother, were living in the house at the time.
Sara Sharif’s primary school teacher describe her as ‘happy child’, jurors told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 13:30
Tara Cobham
Sara Sharif’s primary school teacher described her as a “happy child”, jurors have been told.
Her year four and five teacher Helen Simmons said the 10-year-old was sometimes “sassy”, the Old Bailey heard during Sara’s murder trial on Tuesday.
Plastic coated metal pole found in outhouse a match to bruises on Sara’s body, jury told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 13:00
Amy-Clare Martin
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the court that some linear bruises found Sara Sharif’s body gave the impression of being caused by an object, rather than fists and feet.
A plastic coated metal pole found in a brick out house at the address was compared to Sara’s bruising by an expert.
“His conclusion is that the pole does appear to be a candidate for having been used to cause those particular bruises,” Mr Emlyn Jones said.
The expert also found that other bruises may have been caused by a belt buckle found in a Wendy house in the garden, he added.
Sara Sharif’s head covered with ‘home-made hoods’ of plastic bags and parcel tape, court told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 12:52
Amy-Clare Martin
Sara Sharif’s head may have been covered with “home-made hoods” made of plastic bags and parcel tape, the court heard.
In the month before the child died, her stepmother Beinash Batool allegedly bought 18 rolls of parcel tape online within nine days, jurors were told.
Police later found “strange-looking objects” in the wheelie bins that were “plastic bags wrapped up with parcel tape”, some of which had traces of Sara’s blood on, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said.
He continued: “The prosecution suggest that it is in fact obvious what these items were.
“They are homemade hoods. They had been placed over Sara’s head, we suggest, and then taped in place.”
The trial heard that fingerprints allegedly belonging to her father, Urfan Sharif, were found on one of the bags that was tested by forensics and on the non-adhesive side of a bit of parcel tape.
Neighbour heard ‘single high pitched scream’ two days before Sara died, court told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 12:16
Amy-Clare Martin
Neighbour heard a “single high-pitched scream” of “someone in pain” two days before Sara Sharif died, jurors were told.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said neighbours who spoke to police after the 10-year-old’s death said “they had never seen or heard anything which caused them any concern”.
However, a woman had recalled that “she heard a noise that she considered very much out of the ordinary run of the noise from a family house” on 6 August 2023, the prosecutor said.
He continued: “It was a single high-pitched scream, which lasted a couple of seconds and stopped suddenly.
“It sounded to her like the scream of someone in pain, as she put it ‘it didn’t sound good’.”
The prosecution allege Sara died two days later on 8 August last year and the defendants flew to Pakistan the following day.
Sara Sharif began wearing a hijab to conceal her injuries, prosecution suggest
Tuesday 15 October 2024 12:06
Amy-Clare Martin
The Old Bailey heard that Sara Sharif began wearing a hijab to school in January 2023 and was the only one in her household to wear one.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury: “The prosecution suggest that the fact that Sara began to wear the hijab at around this time is indicative of the need to conceal injuries to her face and head from the outside world.”
The court heard that Sara’s primary school noticed a bruise under her left eye in June 2022 as well as a bruise on her chin and a dark mark on her right eye in March 2023.
When her year four and five teacher asked Sara about “two distinct bruises” in March 2023, the child “acted coy and tried to hide them”, Mr Elwyn Jones said.
He continued: “[The teacher] observed that Sara would often pull her hijab to hide her face if she did not want to speak or was being told off.
“Sara gave multiple conflicting stories as to how she got the bruises.”
Neighbour heard sounds of ‘smacking’ followed by ‘gut-wrenching screams’, court told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 11:52
Amy-Clare Martin
The court heard that a former neighbour, Chloe Redwin, who used to live above Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool at a previous address in 2020, would hear sounds of “smacking” from their home.
“They were shockingly loud and would be followed by ‘gut-wrenching screams’ of young female children,” prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury.
“Over the screaming she would hear the mother shout, ‘shut up’ and sometimes the sounds of further smacking would be heard followed by shouting.”
The same neighbour said she would often hear children screaming, followed by their mother shouting “shut the f*** up” and “go to your room you f****** bastard”, the court heard.
“Ms Redwin would also frequently hear the mother refer to the children as ‘c****’,” the prosecutor said.
Ms Redwin said she heard shouting and screaming at “any time of the day or night”, but that she noticed it did not occur when the “father of the household” was at home, he continued.
She said she “often” said hello to Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, and that she thought he was “conscious of the noise his family made, because on occasions he would apologise for it”.
Ring doorbell removed before family fled, jury told
Tuesday 15 October 2024 11:31
Amy-Clare Martin
The court heard that a video doorbell had been removed from the family home before the defendants fled to Pakistan – leaving Sara Sharif’s body inside.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury the doorbell could have provided a “rich source of evidence” of all the comings and goings in the month before the 10-year-old was killed.
“What is odd is that when the police went to the house after Urfan Sharif’s phone call about Sara….that Ring doorbell had been removed,” he said.
The doorbell’s bracket was still visible to the exterior of the front door, the jury were told.
“You might want to ask yourselves why that would have been done and what its removal might tell you about the presence of mind of whoever removed it,” he added.
Trial resumes
Tuesday 15 October 2024 11:01
Amy-Clare Martin
The trial has resumed at the Old Bailey.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC is expected to continue opening the crown’s case against the defendants on Tuesday.
Sara Sharif’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 29, and uncle Faisal Malik, 28, deny murdering the 10-year-old and causing or allowing her death.
What trial heard yesterday
Tuesday 15 October 2024 10:33
Tara Cobham
- The father of Sara Sharif fled to Pakistan after allegedly killing the 10-year-old and called police to say “I legally punished her and she died”, the court heard.
- The Old Bailey was told that Sara had suffered dozens of injuries including “probable human bite marks”, a burn from an iron and scald burns from hot water before her death. A post-mortem examination also revealed she had been “beaten” with objects and had suffered damage to the brain, jurors were told.
- Opening the trial on Monday, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said all three defendants had played a part in a “campaign of abuse” against Sara leading to her death.
- He said police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year after her father called police at 2.47am and confessed to killing her. During the eight-and-a-half minute call, he told the operator: “I’ve killed my daughter. I legally punished her, and she died.”
- On arrival at Hammond Road, police found the property was quiet, very tidy and seemingly empty before discovering the body next to a note in her father’s handwriting, Mr Emlyn Jones said. The note allegedly stated: “It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it. I am running away because I am scared.”
- The prosecutor told the jury that all three defendants “played their part” in the violence and it was “inconceivable” that just one of them had acted alone.
- Jurors were told Sharif’s case was that his wife, Batool, was responsible for Sara’s death and his confession was false to protect her.
- Batool accused Sharif of being a violent disciplinarian and she was fearful of her husband, Mr Emlyn Jones said.
- Malik’s case is that whoever was responsible it was not him and he was unaware of what was going on, the prosecutor added.
Sara Sharif murder trial set to continue for second day today
Tuesday 15 October 2024 09:17
Tara Cobham
The Sara Sharif murder trial is set to continue for a second day today.
The 10-year-old’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 29, and uncle Faisal Malik, 28, are charged with her murder and causing or allowing her death.
The trial is due to go on for seven weeks at the Old Bailey in central London.
Full story: Sara Sharif’s father called 999 to admit he ‘beat her up’ before fleeing to Pakistan leaving body in bunk bed
Tuesday 15 October 2024 08:25
Tara Cobham
Sara Sharif’s father told police “I’ve killed my daughter” and that he had “legally punished” her after inflicting injuries that led to her death, a court has heard.
Urfan Sharif contacted Surrey Police on 999 in the early hours of 10 August last year, after he had fled to Pakistan leaving his daughter’s body at the family home in Woking, Surrey.
Officers discovered the body of the 10-year-old under a blanket on a bunk bed. She had suffered extensive injuries in a “campaign of abuse”, which included broken bones, burns and bruising.
My colleague Holly Evans reports:
