Sara Sharif’s father 'admitted to killing her' in chilling note left by her body

Sara Sharif's body was found at her home in Woking last year and a note written by her dad was found admitting he had 'killed' her.

A court has heard that Sara Sharif’s father admitted to "killing" the 10-year-old by "beating! in a note left beside her body. Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of her murder, alongside Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.

Sara suffered multiple injuries, including bite marks, burns, and brain damage. Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury that all three defendants were involved in a "campaign of abuse" that led to Sara's death. Police discovered her body in a bunk bed at her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10, 2023, after Sharif called the authorities from abroad, confessing to the crime.

In the note found beside her body, Sharif allegedly wrote, “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it. I am running away because I am scared.” He had fled to Pakistan with his family shortly after Sara's death, making the call to police from thousands of miles away.

An examination revealed extensive injuries, including five bite marks, spinal fractures, and signs of restraint, suggesting prolonged abuse. The prosecutor argued that it was "inconceivable" that only one of the defendants was responsible, as all three lived in the house where Sara suffered and died.

William Emlyn Jones KC said police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her home on August 10 last year after her father called police at 2.47am and confessed to killing her. On arrival at Hammond Road, police found the property was quiet, very tidy and seemingly empty before discovering the body next to a note in her father’s handwriting, Mr Emlyn Jones said.

Sharif had been crying so much while speaking to the operator that he was told: “Take a deep breath and tell me what’s happened,” the court heard. During the eight-and-a-half minute call, he told the operator: “I’ve killed my daughter. I legally punished her, and she died.”

He went on to say “she was naughty”, adding: “I beat her up, it wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.”

Mr Emlun Jones said: “Sara had not just been beaten up. Her treatment, certainly in the last few weeks of her life, had been appalling. It had been brutal. And throughout, these three defendants were the adults living in the house where Sara had lived, where she had suffered, and where she had died.”

Mr Emlyn Jones told jurors that evidence showed Sara died last August 8, two days before she was found. The following day, the whole family fled on a flight out of the UK, landing in Pakistan on August 10, meaning Sharif was thousands of miles away when he made the call to police.

The court heard Sara was thought to have died on the evening of last August 8, as a child sent an “urgent” WhatsApp message to a friend at 8.38pm to say she had “just passed away”. Half an hour later, Batool and Sharif set about booking flights to Pakistan the next day, Mr Emlyn Jones said.

The trial continues, with all three defendants denying murder and causing or allowing the death of a child. Each blames the others for the violence. The trial is expected to conclude by December 13.

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