‘Fever pitch’ screaming and father’s history of violence: The red flags before Sara Sharif’s tragic death
“Our family is the best in the city. We spread love all over the world.” These were the words 10-year-old Sara Sharif scribbled in her red notebook, showing that the schoolgirl had a happy childhood with her father and stepmother.
Yet other notes pointed to a strict regime of discipline and fear in Woking families; Sara had written to her father to apologize for “responding”, writing: “Please forgive me, I’m so very sorry.”
But nothing could have prepared jurors for the obscene details of violence inflicted on the little girl, who was repeatedly beaten, burned and bitten in the final months of her life. He succumbed to his injuries on August 8 last year, suffering a traumatic brain injury, 25 fractures, ulcerated burns on his hip and scalds on his ankles.
His father Urfan Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool and his brother Faisal Malik fled to Pakistan and became the subject of an international manhunt until they returned to the UK to be charged with murder.
The two men who were supposed to keep him safe were found guilty of murder, while Batool and Sharif faced life imprisonment. Meanwhile, her uncle was found guilty of causing or allowing her death.
But despite the shocking nature of his death, there had been warning signs for years that all was not well in the Sharif family home. Social services, the police and the family courts knew about past accusations of abuse against Sharif but “they went absolutely nowhere” and did not prevent him from gaining custody of Sara.
Neighbors reported screaming and yelling and obscene language being used towards Sara. School teachers had commented on the bruises and contacted Batool, but no action was taken when Sara was removed from the classroom and started homeschooling.
Even more shocking is the level of detail Batool described to his sisters through shared images of Sara’s bruised face. Despite this, the young girl, who was encouraged not to go to social services, remained a powerless victim of abuse with a cricket bat, belt and metal pole.
Urfan Şerif’s violent story
Police records detail a series of allegations against Sharif by his ex-wife Olga Sharif, Sara’s mother, and two other ex-girlfriends. In December 2007, the Sheriff was arrested on charges of false imprisonment, theft, criminal damage and common assault following allegations by an 18-year-old teenager named Angelika.
In his statement to the police, Şerif denied the allegations and claimed that he had attacked him. In March 2009, a 31-year-old named Anna made a false imprisonment claim and Sharif was arrested and re-interviewed.
In November 2010, Sharif was suspected of being assaulted, following a complaint from Ms Sharif’s mother, who was worried about her daughter. Mrs. Sharif told police that her husband had been violent at home on more than one occasion, but Sharif claimed that he had attacked her husband during an argument.
He was released on bail and Ms Sharif withdrew the allegation. Jurors heard that another child he was linked to suffered burns and bites in 2013 and 2014 but was not directly accused of inflicting them.
Despite this, after being separated from her mother, she was given custody of Sara and the little girl moved in with Sara and her new partner, Batool.
Neighbors overhear screams reaching ‘fire level’
Chloe Redwin, who lived with the family between November 2022 and April 2023, told jurors she overheard spankings and a “gut-wrenching scream” coming from their property.
He added that he regularly heard Batool shout “Shut up”, “Shut up you bastard” and “Shut up you bastards” in response to a child’s screams.
Rebecca Spencer lived in the same flat in West Byfleet, Surrey, between 2018 and 2020 and described sounds of crying, yelling, screaming and doors slamming and clanking coming from Sharif’s home.
He told jurors: “I could hear the stepmother yelling at Sara for shouting her name.
“I would say he (Batool) lost his temper, it could have been a smacking outburst, I don’t know.”
Ms Spencer told jurors that “general constant screaming and crying” prompted her to take action. “One time the fever went up, so I went downstairs and said, ‘Is everything okay here?'”
The witness said Batool replied “yes” before slamming the door in his face.
The court heard Ms Spencer, who works from home, considered making a formal report about the family downstairs but eventually decided against it.
Batool’s sister’s awareness of abuse
Between 2020 and 2023, Batool sent a series of harrowing images and messages to his sister Qandeela Saboohi via WhatsApp detailing the abuse inflicted on Sara.
Batool was constantly complaining to his sister that the Sheriff hit Sara because she was “naughty”, “rude and rebellious” and because she cut his clothes, hid keys and tore up documents.
These were accompanied by pictures of a sullen and bruised Sara, with the message: “Look what she’s doing. Delete the pictures.”
Miss Saboohi advised him to listen to the Quran and told him to calm down when Batool mentioned going to the police.
Commenting on 10 photos of Sara, she wrote: “How badly he beats her… I feel really bad for him. He beat her bad.”
In May 2021, Batool told Ms Saboohi: “It’s not very good in our house, everything is a bit manic. Urfan beat Sara badly and my mind is shattered. I really want to report him.”
Batool said he planned to seek “legal advice” by 2022, but his sister advised him not to rush the matter and take his time.
He also wrote that he was considering picking Sara up from school, that he was having trouble covering her bruises, that Sara was having trouble breathing, and that she had soiled her diaper.
Concerns at Sara’s school
Jurors heard concerns about injuries Sara suffered at school before she started homeschooling last April, four months before her death.
The school noted that Sara had a bruise under her left eye in June 2022, followed by a bruise on her chin and a dark mark on her right eye in March 2023.
They contacted Children’s Single Access Point for advice and agreed that referral to social services was necessary. Despite this, his teacher Helen Simmons described him as a “happy child” who could be “spoiled” at times.
When she asked Sara about the bruises last March, she gave contradictory statements and pulled her headscarf to hide her face.
