Sara Sharif case: Father, stepmother convicted of brutal murder after UK trial

Published December 11, 2024
An undated handout photograph shows British-Pakistani girl Sara Sharif at school. — AFP
An undated handout photograph shows British-Pakistani girl Sara Sharif at school. — AFP
A combination of handout photographs made available by Surrey Police on December 11 shows (L-R) Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik, respectively father, stepmother and uncle of British-Pakistani girl Sara Sharif in custody. — AFP
A combination of handout photographs made available by Surrey Police on December 11 shows (L-R) Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik, respectively father, stepmother and uncle of British-Pakistani girl Sara Sharif in custody. — AFP

The father and stepmother of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her home in Britain, were on Wednesday convicted of her murder after a trial which heard harrowing details of her treatment before her killing.

Sara was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking, a town southwest of London, after what prosecutors say was a campaign of “serious and repeated violence”.

The family fled to Pakistan immediately after she was killed, before they were arrested in September 2023 at London’s Gatwick airport after flying from Dubai.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Sara had suffered a litany of injuries, including burns, broken bones and bite marks.

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 43, and his wife Beinash Batool, 30, stood trial at London’s Old Bailey court charged with her murder, which they denied.

The jury convicted Urfan Sharif and Batool of Sara’s murder. Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death.

Urfan and Batool will be sentenced on December 17.

Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Urfan had called police and said: “It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.”

Urfan gave evidence and initially denied responsibility for Sara’s death. He accepted slapping Sara to discipline her but denied beating her in a regular or sustained way.

But, under questioning from Batool’s lawyer Caroline Carberry, he later said he took “full responsibility” for his daughter’s death.

Lawyers for Batool, who did not give evidence, said Urfan was violent and controlling and that she was scared of him.

Opinion

Editorial

Spoiler alert
17 Jun, 2026

Spoiler alert

AFTER the temporary peace deal between the US and Iran is physically signed in Geneva on Friday, an arduous process...
Storm-tested cities
17 Jun, 2026

Storm-tested cities

THE deaths caused by the latest spell of monsoon rains in KP and Punjab illustrate how quickly severe weather can...
Chakwal tragedy
17 Jun, 2026

Chakwal tragedy

A NINE-year-old girl is dead because a Punjab Crime Control Department gunman mistook her family’s car for a...
A new deal
Updated 16 Jun, 2026

A new deal

AFTER three and a half months of war between US-Israel and Iran and an acrimonious temporary ceasefire, a genuine...
Charter of economy
16 Jun, 2026

Charter of economy

NO one expected the PTI to accept the government’s invitation to sign a charter of economy; just as few expected...
Hostage seamen
16 Jun, 2026

Hostage seamen

SOME 50 days on, 11 Pakistani nationals are still in Somali pirates’ captivity. Their appeals to the Pakistani and...