Council visited wrong house before Sara Sharif’s murder

The investigation revealed that municipal staff tried to check on 10-year-old Sara Sharif the day before she was killed by her father and stepmother, but went to the wrong address.

Sarah suffered two years of harassment Before his body was found at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in 2023.

His father Urfan Şerif (43) and his stepmother Beinash Batool (30) sentenced to life imprisonment for his murder.

Surrey County Council said it was “deeply saddened” by the findings of the review.

Warning: This story contains distressing details

The official added that it had taken “robust steps” to address the findings and would seek to fully implement each recommendation.

The review of child protection practices, published on Thursday, looked at how agencies worked together before Sara’s murder and what lessons could be learned.

“The seriousness and importance of the incident” was stated [Sharif] overlooked as a serial perpetrator of domestic abuse”.

“Sara’s father and stepmother turned out to be a lethal combination,” he said. “And in hindsight, it’s clear they should never have been trusted with Sara’s care.”

The review noted that there were “clearly several points in Sara’s life, particularly in the last few months, where different measures could and should have been taken by the authorities.”

“The system couldn’t keep him safe,” he added.

The review also noted that why Sara started wearing the hijab was not properly investigated, and an occupational therapist stated that she did not want to talk about it for “fear of causing offence”. It was later learned that he was wearing it to hide his wounds.

Neighbors also said they were “afraid of being branded racists” if they reported concerns.

Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during the harassment campaign.

An autopsy revealed the woman suffered dozens of injuries, including human bites, iron burns and scalds from hot water.

The review was commissioned by the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership, which includes police, local health agencies and the council’s children’s services.

According to the report, the bruising was first noticed on Sara in June 2022.

In March 2023, staff at St Mary’s Primary School in West Byfleet contacted Surrey Children’s Services after noticing three bruises on her face, one the size of a “golf ball”.

He had not gone to school for two days after his family said he was sick.

The support request is evaluated in yellow; this meant that action had to be decided within 24 hours.

The review stated that Surrey Children’s Services did not check with Surrey Police, who were aware of the Sheriff’s history of domestic violence.

She also did not consult the school, which noticed that Sara had changed from a bubbly demeanor to a “quiet and reserved” demeanor, pulling her hijab down over her face.

The review heard that a social worker had lied when she spoke to the Sheriff and that Sara had scars from being hooked up to the machine when she was born.

No further social service action was decided.

The review also found that it was not properly investigated why Sara started wearing a hijab from the age of eight, despite it being “highly unusual for such a young child”. It was later learned that he wore such a thing to hide his wounds.

A newly qualified occupational therapist visited the home but avoided discussing Sara’s headscarf for “fear of causing an attack”, the review said.

Neighbors also told the review they were reluctant to report concerns because they were “fearful of being branded racist, especially on social media”.

The report also found that “race is a barrier to reporting possible child abuse” and that “professionals never investigate how this is done.” [her Pakistani heritage] “It impressed Sara.”

The sheriff then removed his daughter from school to be homeschooled.

The review found that Sara “effectively disappeared” from this point on.

The school gave the council Sara’s new address in Woking, allowing workers to make home visits in line with its home education policy.

However, because the system had not been updated, when the homeschool team came to visit on August 7, 2023, they went to the old address.

The review stated that they became aware of the mistake in the office but decided not to revisit it until September.

Sara was killed the next day.

The review found that Sara would have suffered “incredibly severe physical injuries” during the botched visit.

He added: “It is important that Sara’s legacy is a much more consistent home education system that provides adequate safeguards for all children.”

Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said Sara’s death was a “terrible tragedy”.

He added that the review “rightly highlights the glaring failures and missed opportunities across all institutions” that led to this.

“We will take every step to ensure that no child remains invisible to the services that will keep them safe,” he said.

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the review “justifiably recognizes our collective anger and this must never happen again”.

He added: “Change is urgent; more than two years after Sara’s preventable murder and children are still dying.”

What happened to Sara was one of the most shocking and tragic cases police had ever investigated, Surrey Police said on Thursday.

“No child should have to suffer as Sara did at the hands of the very people who were supposed to show her the only love she had,” Deputy Chief Constable Tanya Jones said.

The force said it would work with its partners to implement the findings of the review.

The authors of the review, former senior social worker Jane Wonnacott and former homicide detective Dr Russell Wate, said it was “surprising” that children’s services did not investigate the police.

They added that this was an “opportunity to describe” Sara’s abuse.

The review found the council had a large number of files relating to the family’s relationship with the police and social services but “there was no time to look into this in depth”.

It was also noted that there was “overconfidence” in the Sheriff’s account, rather than deciding that more time was needed to analyze the information.

The review said the Sheriff “treated and manipulated” professionals who could have helped Sara, as well as the 10-year-old who almost always appeared “loyal to her father.”

Terence Herbert, chief executive of Surrey County Council, said services for children in Surrey had gone from “inadequate” to “good” in recent years.

“We are absolutely committed to continuing to make improvements that can help keep children safe,” he said.

“The report does not find a single solution that will address all factors affecting Sara or hold any one organization accountable.”

Woking MP Will Forster called for the council’s children’s services to be put into special measures immediately, adding that senior council officers must be held to account.

Surrey Children’s Services and the Family Court had been caring for Sara since she was born.

He was also almost taken into care twice, but each time the court ruled against him.

When his case came to court for the third time, an argument broke out over which of his birth parents should get custody.

However, the review revealed that the report submitted to the judge by an inexperienced social worker did not include critical information regarding child services’ extensive involvement with Sara.

Sharif and Batool were found guilty of Sara’s murder at the Old Bailey in December 2024.

He was sentenced to at least 40 years in prison and Batool was sentenced to at least 33 years.

Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was also sentenced to 16 years in prison for causing or allowing her death.