Tortured with a bat, killed by her father: the horrifying waves of the killing of a Pak-British girl | World news

The gruesome details of the murder of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl last August shocked the whole world. Great Britain (UK), although three family members accused of the crime deny the allegations in the ongoing trial of the case.

Sarah Sharif, the daughter of a taxi driver, was found dead in bed at the family home in the southern English city of Woking with broken bones, bites and burn marks all over her body.

The discovery of Sarah’s body sparked a massive manhunt for the relatives accused of the murder, after they fled to Pakistan the day before with Sarah’s five siblings.

Those accused in the case – Sarah’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batul, 30, and uncle Faisal Malik, 29 – returned to Britain next month and have been on trial since mid-October. They all denied the charges.

Was Sarah killed by her father?

Urfan Sharif, who had previously told the court that his wife had demanded he confess to killing his daughter and that another of his children had killed her, admitted on Wednesday that he killed Sarah but insisted he had no intention of harming her. her, even as he beat her as she lay dying.

Under questioning from his wife’s lawyer on Wednesday, Sharif reportedly said he took “full responsibility” for what happened, adding that he had no intention of harming Sarah.

“Yes, she died because of me,” Sharif said when asked if he beat Sarah to death.

He also admitted inflicting multiple fractures on Sarah in the weeks before her death by using a cricket bat on her while she was bound with packing tape, strangling her with his bare hands and breaking the hyoid bone in her neck.

“I can take full responsibility. I accept everything,” Sharif was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency, who also admitted that he severely beat Sarah on August 8, when she was unconscious and dying.

The father of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl admitted killing his daughter on Wednesday but insisted he had no intention of harming her, even when he beat her as she lay dying.

All three deny charges of causing or allowing her death.

The jury at the Old Bailey was told that all three left the family home in Woking, south-west London, the day after Sarah’s death and flew to Pakistan.

Sara’s body was found in August last year by police after a tip-off from Sharif in Islamabad.

Last week, Sharif said he was devastated by Sara’s death, but agreed to leave because Batul told him Sara had been beaten by his other children and that he feared the consequences for them.

Before leaving, he wrote a note in which he claimed responsibility: “Whoever saw this… it is I, Urfan Sharif, who killed my daughter by beating.”

But Sharif also told jurors that the confession was dictated by his wife. “I was just writing, the wording wasn’t mine,” he said, insisting he took responsibility for the crime to protect his other children.

Before leaving on August 9, 2023, Sharif reportedly left his house keys under a doormat so the police wouldn’t have to break down the door. He also promised to tell the authorities about Sarah when he was out of the country.

A recording of Sharif’s garbled phone call to UK police after arriving at the was played in court Islamabad. “I killed my daughter, I killed my daughter,” he said.

The day after fleeing Britain a month earlier, Sharif said in a call to British police from Pakistan that he had “legally punished (punished) my daughter and she died”. “I hit her, I didn’t want to kill her, but I hit her too hard,” he said, claiming she was “naughty”.

After leading police to the house, he said he “walked out in a panic” and added: “I promise I’ll be back.”

A month later, Sharif, Batul and Malik returned to the UK and were arrested.

Sara was tortured for years

WhatsApp messages sent to the court by Sara Batul’s stepmother to her sister show that Sara was assaulted and tortured over many years.

The court heard WhatsApp messages Batul had sent to her sister over several years in which she said Sharif had hit Sarah for being “rude and unruly”.

“She is covered in bruises, literally turned black,” says one such message.

“A genie lives in her,” Batula was quoted as saying by the AFP report, referring to genie-like supernatural beings from mythology.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones told the trial that four months before her death, Sharif had told Sarah’s school that she would be home-schooled “with immediate effect”.

Around the same time, the family moved a short distance from the town of West Byfleet to Woking, but teachers had already noticed bruises on her body in June 2022 and March 2023.

When asked about bodily injuries, Sara did not want to answer and hid her head in her hands, the court noted.

Giving evidence earlier in the trial, teacher Helen Simmons described Sarah as a “happy child” who was sometimes “cheeky”.

Simmons recalled seeing bruises on Sarah’s face twice, and when the girl didn’t provide a clear report of her injuries, the school sent surveillance.

At the same time, the neighbors also regularly heard screams, commotion and crying.

Rebecca Spencer, who lived below the family, said she could hear Batul “screaming”.

“I heard my stepmother yelling at Sarah,” she testified.

Spencer also said she heard what sounded like someone “locking themselves in the bedroom,” with the door “continually banging” as they “tried to open it.”