Sara Sharif's father Urfan Sharif, 42 and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30 were found guilty of the ten year olds tragic murder. At the hearing at the Old Bailey today, her uncle was also found guilty of causing or allowing her death.
. . . . . .Sara Sharif's evil father faces life in prison today for the murder of the schoolgirl failed by authorities after a decade of missed opportunities to stop a monster.
The shocking case has raised questions about failures by police, social services and Sara's school who missed 15 opportunities to save the vulnerable pupil before Sharif savagely battered her to death with a metal pole as she lay barely conscious dying in Batool's arms on August 8 last year. 3. May 7, 2013 – A social worker spots a burn mark on a child's leg. Sharif had failed to report the incident and claimed it was a BBQ accident. Nothing is done.
7. January 2015 – Sharif is reported to social services for waving a knife around at home in what he said was a 'zombie' game. Social workers note that Sharif hit and kicked Olga at home and the pair threatened to kill each other. 11. June 6, 2022 - A teacher reports that Sara has a bruise under her eye to the school's online child protection monitoring system. Sara initially will not say what happened, before claiming another child hit her.
15. April 17, 2023 - Sharif decides to home-school Sara. The school rings the council for advice and is told it should make a referral if there are concerns. Staff see Sara later that day at school pick-up and she seems fine so they decide against it, even though she had been beaten earlier that day. She is never seen outside the home again.
During their toxic relationship, he punched her in the face and stole her passport, but she was too afraid to leave until she miscarried his child. Social services were called repeatedly after children suffered unexplained bruises, bite marks, scratches and burns, but Sharif managed to hoodwink them playing on his wife's vulnerability and broken English to blame Olga or even other children for inflicting the wounds.
She described her daughter as having 'beautiful brown eyes and an angelic voice. Sara's smile could brighten up the darkest room'. 'They had Urfan's file, showing how violent he was, didn't they? If they had taken that into the system, Sara would still be alive.' When the school made a referral to social services in March 2023 about bruises on her face, the case was closed with no further action just six days later.
CCTV image dated August 9, 2023 issued by Surrey Police of Sara Sharif's family going through passport control at Heathrow Airport in LondonOnly when he had landed in a country with no extradition treaty did Sharif call 999 from Pakistan to say: 'It wasn't my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.'By Rosie Shead and Emily Pennink
Letters found after Sara's death revealed her desperation to win over her tyrannical father, as she wrote, 'I am sorry that I was rude. Please forgive me, I am so, so sorry.' Detective Chief Inspector Craig Emmerson said the three members of Sara's family were found guilty death 'only ever sought to preserve their own interests' and 'have shown no remorse for their truly dreadful behaviour'.
'This case has shocked and horrified not only those who knew and loved her but people across the country and around the world.' 'The murder of a child is absolutely shocking but the abuse Sara suffered during her short life has made this case particularly disturbing. 'The focus of the trial has been on the evidence needed to secure the convictions of those responsible for Sara's death. This means that until the independent safeguarding review concludes, a complete picture cannot be understood or commented upon.
After Sara's death, her father Urfan left a note confessing to killing her next to her body before fleeing with his family to Pakistan In a 68-second clip, Beinash Batool replies 'No comment' to seven questions from officers, including 'Do you love Sara?', 'Did you care about her at all?', 'What did you see?' and 'What happened to Sara?'.
Asked by police what he can tell them about the note, Sharif replies 'No comment'. Wearing a white polo shirt and jeans, he sat with his arms folded. After the trial, police also released footage of Sara sitting on a black leather sofa, singing and playing guitar and dancing, in what appears to be a playground.
'We remain committed to working with our partner agencies to identify the lessons to be learned from this case and ensure these are swiftly acted upon.' Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: 'Sara Sharif was killed by the people in her life that should have loved her the most - and they must now face the consequences of that terrible act.
'The law needs to change. The outdated defence in assault law that permits 'reasonable chastisement' of children must be removed as a matter of urgency, through the Children's Wellbeing Bill being introduced to Parliament imminently.' 'This must go hand in hand with better data sharing by services and the introduction of a unique ID for every child.
CCTV image dated August 9, 2023 issued by Surrey Police of Sara Sharif's family queuing at check-in desks at Heathrow Airport in London'We can have no more reviews, no more strategies, no more debate. When we say 'never again', we have to mean it - let that be Sara's legacy.' 'It is vital that the Child Safeguarding Practice Review identifies any ways in which Sara could have been better protected, in an effort to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future.
'Families, professionals, and individuals can also all work to protect children by reporting any concerns, no matter how small, to the local authorities, the police, or the NSPCC Helpline. If a child is in immediate danger, always call emergency services on 999.' She was put to work doing the laundry and housework by Batool, who liked to keep up appearances and keep a tidy home.
Sharif did not hold back with his punishments and tried to beat her into submission with a bat and pole, but nothing could dim her bright, bold and fierce nature. She said: 'She was a little feisty. If she had an opinion she would voice it and she was not afraid to answer back. She never spoke about her home life.'
When that failed to satisfy her father's warped idea of discipline, she was put in a nappy, tied up with packaging tape and her head covered in a homemade hood and beaten even more, it was claimed in court.
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