Father, uncle and stepmum deny murdering 10-year-old who was found dead at home
The father of Sara Sharif has denied murdering his 10-year-old daughter.
Urfan Sharif, Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool and her uncle Faisal Malik are accused of murder after her body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10. Appearing via videolink, all three pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey this morning.
A previous court hearing was told police found Sara’s body after receiving a call from Pakistan, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, at 2.47am on August 10.
The court was also previously told the defendants had booked a flight to the country two days earlier. Prosecutor Giles Bedloe previously told the Old Bailey that Sara was found to have “a constellation of healed and healing injuries”.
Sara's father Urfan Sharif and his partner Beinash Batool deny murder (Sky News)
Faisal Malik also faces a murder charge, which he deniesThe day before Sara was discovered, the three defendants left the UK for Pakistan with five children.
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Ambulance crews were called to the address in Woking, where they pronounced the child dead just after 4am. Sara was identified using the DNA of her mother Olga Sharif, who lives in Somerset, and another relative. A post-mortem examination later found the youngster had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries” over a “sustained and extended” period of time
The trio had flown to Pakistan the day before Sara’s body was discovered at the family’s home police had wanted them for questioning. A post-mortem found Sara had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries” over a “sustained and extended” period of time.
The trial has been scheduled for six weeks to start on September 2, 2024.
In their latest update, Surrey Police said: “Officers continue to appeal for information about Sara’s life and would like to speak to anyone who knew her. Sara's mother has been updated on these developments and will continue to be supported by specialist officers. We are also working with our local partners in Surrey to progress the safeguarding review.
“The Independent Office for Police Conduct has reviewed information from Surrey Police in relation to previous contact with Sara Sharif and are satisfied that it does not appear to meet the criteria for a death or serious injury referral.”
It was earlier reported the trio set to stand trial flew back to the UK in business class, with a relative paying out £4,000. They were said to have flown economy from Sialkot, eastern Pakistan to Dubai. From there, they took a connecting business class flight to London.
Burhan Ali from Bin Adam Travels told a man in his mid-30s named Safeer Malik came into the office to buy tickets. He added: “He said he wanted three tickets for his brothers and sister-in-law. He offered [to] pay in Sterling but I said we only deal in Pakistani rupees so after half an hour he came with 1,500,000 RS (£4,000) and I booked the tickets.”
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