Father and stepmother guilty of Sara Sharif murder
· BBC NewsChristian Fuller
BBC News, South East
The father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sara Sharif have been found guilty of her murder after subjecting her to "horrific suffering" for more than two years.
Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during a campaign of abuse before her body was found with dozens of injuries at the family's home in Woking, Surrey, last year.
Her father, Urfan Sharif, 43, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, were found guilty of murder on Wednesday, while her uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was convicted of causing or allowing a child's death.
Following the verdict, Det Ch Supt Mark Chapman of Surrey Police said he had never seen "such horrific suffering of a young person" in his 30-year career.
“It's one of those cases that touches every single person who's involved in it, and I'm sure has touched many members of the community as well,” he added.
Det Ch Insp Craig Emmerson added that Sara's murder was "one of the most difficult and distressing" cases that Surrey Police had ever dealt with.
In a statement read outside the Old Bailey, he said: "The murder of a child is absolutely shocking, but the abuse Sara suffered during her short life has made this case particularly disturbing."
Children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said Sara's murder highlighted "profound weaknesses in our child protection system".
"There can be no doubt that Sara was failed in the starkest terms by the safety net of services around her," she said.
"Even before she was born, she was known to social care, and yet she fell off their radar so entirely that by the time she died, she was invisible to them all.
"We can have no more reviews, no more strategies, no more debate. When we say 'never again', we have to mean it – let that be Sara's legacy."
The commissioner called for a raft of changes including "proper oversight" for children, like Sara, being home schooled.
Warning: This article features details that some people might find distressing
The trial heard how a post-mortem examination found Sara had suffered injuries including "probable human bite marks", an iron burn and scalding from hot water before she died on 8 August last year.
Next to Sara's body, which was found by police in a bunkbed, was a note in her father's handwriting, which read: "Whoever see this note, it's me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating."
Sharif initially claimed that Batool was responsible for Sara's death, and told the jury he had made a false confession in the note and a subsequent phone call in order to protect his wife.
However, in a dramatic U-turn under cross-examination, Sharif later accepted "full responsibility" for his daughter's death.
Sara's mother, Olga Domin, has paid tribute to her, stating: "Sara's smile could brighten up the darkest room."
She said her child had beautiful brown eyes, an angelic voice and a unique character.
"She will always be in our hearts, her laughter will bring warmth to our lives," she said.
"We miss Sara very much. Love you, princess."
Sharif married Ms Domin in 2009 but they separated in 2015, with accusations of abuse made against each other in a custody battle.
In 2019, Sara was living with her mother when Guildford's family court awarded custody to Sharif, who had by then divorced Ms Domin and married Batool.
Sara had more than 70 new external injuries when her body was found by police.
She had suffered 11 fractures to her spine, burns to her buttocks caused by a domestic iron, signs of a traumatic brain injury and six probable human bite marks.
Dental impressions ruled out that the bite marks had been caused by the male defendants, but Batool had refused to provide samples.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC previously said a bloodstained cricket bat, a rolling pin with Sara’s DNA on it, a metal pole, a belt and rope were found near the family’s outhouse.
Sara's primary school noticed a bruise under her left eye in June 2022, a bruise on her chin and a dark mark on her right eye in March 2023.
She gave multiple conflicting tales of how she got the injuries and began wearing a hijab to hide her facial injuries in January 2023.
By April last year she had been withdrawn to be home-schooled.
Accounts from neighbours were shared with the court, including a woman who lived near the family's previous address in West Byfleet, who recalled “shockingly loud” sounds of smacking and “gut wrenching screams” of young girls.
'Being dramatic'
During the trial, Sharif claimed he came home on the evening on 8 August 2023 to find his wife sitting on the floor in the couple's bedroom, holding Sara.
Giving evidence, he said Batool told him the girl had fallen down the stairs while playing with another child, and that she was “being dramatic".
Sharif said he told Sara to “get up” and took her arm, but it was limp.
His reaction was to "whack" Sara in the stomach twice with a pole for "pretending", jurors heard.
He previously said he also gave his daughter CPR for 10 minutes, but Batool told him to stop.
Sharif said that when he asked where the ambulance was, Batool replied: “There’s no need because she’s dead.”
When the family fled to Pakistan, Sharif called police in England about an hour after their flight had landed and told the operator that he killed Sara.
In the call, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, he said he “legally punished her” and she died.
Later in the call, he said that Sara had been naughty and that he then beat her up.
“It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much," Sharif went on to tell the operator.
In his evidence at the Old Bailey, Sharif began by claiming his confessions were false before relenting and admitting “full responsibility” for Sara’s death.
He unexpectedly told the jury: “I admit what I said in my phone call and my written note. Every single word.”
However, he later denied intending to kill Sara and declined to change his plea.
He told the court he was lying when he called his wife, Batool, a “psycho” earlier in the trial.
Sharif admitted beating Sara, but denied biting or burning her.
Batool and Malik did not give evidence during the trial.
Mr Justice Cavanagh told the Old Bailey on Wednesday: "This case, above any other, has been stressful and traumatic."
Libby Clark, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Sara was a "happy, outgoing and lively child" who died at the hands of those closest to her.
"In a small house with such a big family, it would have been immediately obvious to all the adults what was happening to Sara. Yet none of them took any action to stop it or report it," she said.
"They all played their part in the violence that led to her tragic death."
NSPCC acting chief executive Maria Neophytou said the abuse Sara sustained raised questions regarding child safeguarding.
"It is vital that the Child Safeguarding Practice Review identifies any ways in which Sara could have been better protected, in an effort to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future," she said.
Surrey County Council's Rachael Wardell said the authority was determined to play a "full and active part in the forthcoming review" to understand the wider circumstances surrounding Sara's death.
Sentencing is due to take place next week.