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Jury in Sara Sharif murder trial retires to deliberate verdicts

Jury consider verdicts after months-long trial over death of 10-year-old

Alex Croft
Tuesday 03 December 2024 08:46 EST
Sara Sharif died aged 10 (Handout/PA)
Sara Sharif died aged 10 (Handout/PA) (PA Media)

The jury in the trial of Sara Sharif’s father, stepmother, and uncle have begun deliberating whether the trio are guilty of murder.

Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, his wife Beinash Batool, 30, and brother Faisal Malik, 29, are all accused of Sara’s murder last August, following years of alleged abuse against the 10-year old from Surrey.

Sara was found dead in the Woking family home on August 10 after Sharif phoned the police from Pakistan and revealed he had beaten her up “too much”.

Sara Sharif, whose body was found under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in Woking last August (Surrey Police/PA)
Sara Sharif, whose body was found under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in Woking last August (Surrey Police/PA) (PA Media)

During the trial, Sharif confessed to hitting Sara with a metal pole, cricket bat and mobile phone. He denied putting a hood over her head, burning her with a hot iron and boiling water, and biting her.

Batool and Malik denied involvement in the abuse and declined to give evidence in the trial.

Court artist drawing of Sara Sharif’s father Urfan Sharif (right), her uncle Faisal Malik (left) and stepmother Beinash Batool (centre) sitting alongside dock officers at the Old Bailey in London (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
Court artist drawing of Sara Sharif’s father Urfan Sharif (right), her uncle Faisal Malik (left) and stepmother Beinash Batool (centre) sitting alongside dock officers at the Old Bailey in London (Elizabeth Cook/PA) (PA Wire)

All three defendants have denied murder, causing or allowing the death of a child and the alternative offence of manslaughter.

Mr Justice Cavanagh sent the jury out to start deliberations on the verdict shortly before 1pm on Thursday.

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