Twisted web of lies Sara Sharif's dad and step-mum told to cover up vile abuse

As Sara Sharif's family members are found guilty of her murder, the Mirror takes a look at the shocking web of lies her father and stepmother told to conceal their tortuous abuse - and how it began to unravel

Sara Sharif's lifeless body was discovered beneath a duvet at her Woking home, with the little girl having endured injuries comparable to having been "kicked by a horse".

Although neighbours had heard screams coming from her family home, nobody could have imagined the extent of torture she endured at the hands of those she should have been able to trust.

Sara's father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle Faisal Malik, 29, all stood accused of carrying out abuse which led to her death in August 2023. And all three, who initially fled to Pakistan following Sara's death, have today been found guilty.

Sharif and Batool are now facing life sentences after being found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey, while Malik was found guilty of causing or allowing her death.

Over the course of more than two years, Sara was subjected to a litany of agonising injuries, including 10 spinal fractures and breaks to her right collarbone, two ribs, shoulder blades, both arms and hands and three fingers. A post mortem also found that a domestic iron had been applied with pressure to Sara's buttocks, with the wound left untreated.

The court heard how none of the three defendants ever reported Sara's abuse to any outside agency - and even took measures to cover up any evidence of the violence.

Back in November, Mr Emlyn Jones KC told the Old Bailey: "It is inconceivable that one of the adults alone, or two of them, could have carried out what amounts to a campaign of abuse without the complicity, participation, assistance and encouragement of the others."

Batool stood accused of trying to get Sharif to cover up his harrowing abuse of Sara to make sure he didn't "get busted". On October 31, jurors heard a series of WhatsApp messages exchanged between Batool and her sister Qandeela Saboohi between 2020 and 2023, which discussed Sara being abused.

Some messages even included photos of bruises inflicted on Sara, with Batool telling Ms Saboohi: "Look what he's doing. Delete the pictures." On a number of occasions, Batool complained that Sharif had beaten his daughter for being "naughty" and "rude and rebellious".

Offering advice, Ms Saboohi suggested that her sister listen to the Qur'an, and also told her to calm down when she spoke about going to the police.

On another occasion in 2022, Batool told Ms Saboohi that she was planning on taking "legal advice", but her sister instead advised her to give it time and not rush into anything. Batool claimed that Sharif had woken Sara up to hit her as her "bad behaviour" had made him "randomly" angry. In February 2022, she shared that Sara had been vomiting "randomly" and was having breathing problems. Later that same year, Batool revealed that she was contemplating taking Sara out of school, stating: “I don’t want to but kinda don’t have a choice.

"It's not hard homeschooling. I’m just fed up of her behaviour and Urfan's. Sara's body is literally bruised because Urfan beat her up. I cannot even cover it up. He beat Sara up yesterday, and I can’t send her to school on Monday looking like that. She ripped Urfan's documents in front of him and was being rude and rebellious. She’s got way too much bruises and stuff, and homeschooling isn't that hard."

Discussing these messages in court, Emlyn Jones asked Sharif: "You're conspiring together, aren't you, to keep your violent treatment a secret from the rest of the world?" Sharif replied: "I was wrong, sir."

The Times reports that Sharif was also questioned over why none of the relatives brought their phones back with them from Pakistan, which Emlyn Jones asserted would have contained a "treasure trove" of messages, pictures and footage.

Emlyn Jones told Sharif: "If we had your phone, there would be tonnes of messages talking about Sara. Months, years of being punished, you were discussing in these messages. When you went to Pakistan, you made sure those phones didn't come back."

Sharif responded: "We did not leave the phones in Pakistan deliberately. The phones were in the car when the police raided."

During the trial, the defendants turned on each other. Sharif, who had initially admitted to killing his daughter in a harrowing 999 call, claimed in court that he'd made a false confession to protect his family.

Sharif claimed he'd returned home on August 8, 2023 to find Sara dying in Batool's arms. Sobbing audibly, he alleged that Batool had informed him that Sara had fallen after being chased down the stairs by another child.

Sharif said: "I could not hear her breathing, her chest was numb I checked her pulse and it was numb. I shouted for an ambulance. I started giving her CPR. I was numb I'm still there now I was numb like I am now. I was shocked. I was giving CPR. Beinash shouted at me wake her up, wake her up she cannot die."

According to Sharif, Batool "did not seem emotional" and stopped him from giving Sara CPR, allegedly telling him: "Leave her, Sara's dead."

On November 7, Sharif blamed Sara's death on "psychopath" Batool, telling the court: "I never knew I was living with evil and psycho."

Meanwhile, Batool's lawyer rejected Sharif's claim that she had been violent towards Sara, asserting that he had been the abusive one. Describing Batool as "an isolated and lonely young woman", Caroline Carberry KC told Sharif: "You have twisted this event to try to make it look like this was an abusive episode when in fact it shows you are the abusive and manipulative one."

Just a few days after his "psychopath" remarks, Sharif told jurors he "takes full responsibility" for his daughter's death, stating: "I accept every single thing."

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