Father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sara Sharif found guilty of her murder | UK news

Sara Sharif’s father and stepmother have been found guilty of her murder as questions are now raised over missed opportunities to save the 10-year-old.

Sara suffered a “daily living hell” as she was slowly tortured to death over many months by Urfan Sharif, who was described in court as a psychopath and a “controlling, violent bully”.

The 43-year-old was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey on Wednesday after an eight-week trial. His wife, Beinash Batool, 30, was also found guilty of murder. His brother, Faisal Malik, 29, was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child.

Sharif held his head in his hands while Batool wept as the verdicts were delivered after around two days of deliberations.

The judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, adjourned sentencing until next Tuesday, telling jurors the case had been “extremely stressful and traumatic”.

He said: “I know a murder trial is always stressful and traumatic but this case almost above any other has been extremely stressful and traumatic.

“You have performed your duty magnificently. I’m acutely aware the evidence you had to sit through has been very distressing and you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t find it upsetting.”

Sara was found dead in a bunk bed at the family home in Surrey on 10 August 2023. Sharif had killed her two days earlier before fleeing to Pakistan, from where he called police to say he had beaten her up “too much” for being naughty. He had also left a handwritten “confession” near her fully clothed body saying: “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”

A postmortem found Sara had 71 external injuries, including bruises, burns and human bite marks. She also had at least 25 fractures, including 11 to her spine.

Sharif, a taxi driver, lied repeatedly to the jury for six days as he denied assaulting Sara. But on the seventh day of his evidence he dramatically told jurors he took “full responsibility” for her death.

He admitted binding Sara with packing tape and beating her with a cricket bat, metal pole and mobile phone. But he denied biting her, putting her in a homemade hood and burning her with an iron and boiling water. Batool, who had refused to provide her dental impressions, did not give evidence during the trial.

The prosecutor, William Emlyn Jones KC, told jurors that Sharif had fostered a “culture of violent discipline where assaults of Sara had become completely routine, completely normalised”. He said the schoolgirl was “brutally mistreated, abused and violently assaulted” for years.

Serious questions will now be raised as to how Sharif’s abuse went undetected for so long, given the family had repeatedly attracted the attention of social services, police and schools for 16 years.

The case will be the focus of a local safeguarding review to examine potential missed opportunities and whether more could have been done to prevent the death of Sara, who was home schooled from April 2023.

Caroline Carberry KC, Batool’s barrister, described Sharif as a “manipulative, serial abuser of vulnerable women” and an “abuser of children … over many years as confirmed in police and social service records”.

The trial heard Sharif had previously been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a baby and a child. He had also been arrested for allegedly abusing three unconnected Polish women, including Sara’s mother, Olga Domin, with the first claim dating back to 2007.

In each of those three cases, Surrey police said an investigation was carried out but there was insufficient evidence to proceed and Sharif was released without charge.

Sara was placed in the care of her father after a custody hearing at Guildford family court in 2019 despite concerns for years about the potential risk he posed.

DCS Mark Chapman, from Surrey police, told the Guardian the force’s contact with the family “goes back some years”. He said details of the contact were “properly referred into the custody family court hearing around [the] placement of Sara”. He said there had been no further contact with Surrey police after that.

Surrey county council is understood to have supported Sara’s return to her father in 2019 because that had been her preference.

Libby Clark, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said she believed Sharif’s willingness to go on parenting and domestic violence courses was likely to have helped his custody case.

She said: “He’s quite a clever man and I know the extent to which he went on those courses … to be a better parent. Undoubtedly going on those courses was part of the ongoing proceedings, but he knew how to behave on them. I think he was clever enough to be able to give the right answers.”

Sophie Francis-Cansfield, the head of policy at the charity Women’s Aid, said the case highlighted “a devastating failure” to safeguard children at risk.

She said: “Sara Sharif’s story is a devastating reminder of the consequences when red flags are ignored and children’s safety is not prioritised in family court decisions.

“Before Sara was even born, there were alarming warning signs. Her father had been accused of abuse by three women, and Sara was placed under a child protection plan at birth – clear evidence of significant risk. Yet, despite multiple signs of ongoing harm, the system failed to act decisively. Instead of ensuring her safety, family courts prioritised reunification at the expense of her life.”

She added: “There needs to be systematic reform to protect vulnerable children and ensure their wellbeing is at the heart of every decision made by child protective services and in courts. The cost of inaction is too great, and we must demand a system that truly values and protects the lives of women and children.”

Surrey police said they were working with other agencies on progressing the safeguarding review.

A spokesperson said: “No child should ever have to endure the brutal mistreatment, the appalling injuries and the extreme abuse that Sara was subjected to. 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.”

All three defendants had denied Sara’s murder, causing or allowing her death and an alternative charge of manslaughter.