Sara Sharif murder trial latest: Schoolgirl showed signs of starvation and had ‘unusual’ injuries, jury told

A note that was allegedly found by Sara Sharif’s body in her father’s handwriting has been pictured in court.

Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his 10-year-old daughter’s murder alongside Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.

It is alleged within hours of her death the defendants had booked a flight out of the country.

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Read the full report from the third day of the trial from our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin:

On the third day of the trial at the Old Bailey, jurors heard:

• Sara Sharif had suffered more than 70 injuries shortly before she was found dead
• A pathologist gave her cause of death as “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect”.
• No natural diseases or drugs had contributed to her death, which was described as “unnatural”.
• Older injuries included scarring on her left jawline, scars around her pelvis, a puncture wound to her forehead and marks from the lower left leg to the top of the foot.
• Bruises on her legs were likely caused by “multiple impacts with a linear object”, likely an item used as a weapon.
• Traces of the 10-year-old’s blood were discovered on the kitchen floor, a vacuum cleaner and a cricket bat

Reading his conclusions, Dr Cary gave Sara’s cause of death as “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect” and described it as “unnatural”.

He said the findings were in keeping with “significant and repetitive blunt force trauma” and did not exclude the possibility of Sara’s burns contributing to her death through sepsis.

Previously, jurors have heard Sara had suffered “probable human bite marks”, an iron burn and scalding from hot water.

Traces of the 10-year-old’s blood were discovered on the kitchen floor, a vacuum cleaner and a cricket bat following a police search of the family home, the prosecution said.

The defendants, of Hammond Road in Woking, have denied murder and causing or allowing the death of a child between December 16 2022 and August 9 2023.

Dr Cary presented his findings from a post-mortem examination of Sara’s body he carried out on 15 August 2023 which took around three hours.

Sara had a height of 1.37 metres and a weight of 27 kilograms, with both measurements within the average bracket for a child her age but towards the lower end, the court heard.

The court heard no natural diseases or drugs had contributed to Sara’s death.

Among the older injuries were “blotchy scarring” on the left jawline, multiple purple scars around the pelvis, marks from the lower left leg to the top of the foot and fine scars and blotchy brown discolouration on the left forearm.

Recent injuries were identified across all parts of Sara’s body, including on her face, fingers, ankles and back.

Ten-year-old Sara Sharif died after an alleged “campaign of abuse” in the home she shared with her father, stepmother and uncle.

A court heard on Tuesday that a “high pitched scream” was heard two days before the 10-year-old was killed and her family fled to Pakistan.

Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his daughter’s murder alongside Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.

Police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year following a call from Sharif in Pakistan saying he “beat her up too much” for being “naughty”, the court has heard.

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