Behind Sara Sharif’s smile was a life of violence and torture

It was at 2.47am on 10 August final yr when Surrey Police acquired a name from Islamabad airport in Pakistan.

“I’ve killed my daughter,” stated the person on the tip of the cellphone, sobbing loudly. “It wasn’t my intention to kill her, however I beat her up an excessive amount of.”

He advised the police name handler he had solely meant to punish her. “I’m a merciless father,” he added.

The person on the cellphone was Urfan Sharif.

By the point the decision was over PC George Van Der Wart was knocking on the door of the Sharif household dwelling in Woking.

Warning: This text comprises graphic descriptions of bodily abuse

In a bed room on the high of the steps, he discovered the physique of Sharif’s 10-year-old daughter Sara on the underside bunk, beneath the covers.

Subsequent to the pillow was a word in Sharif’s handwriting by which he stated he had killed his daughter by beating. “I misplaced it,” he wrote.

Submit-mortem examinations confirmed Sara had died from a constellation of accidents and neglect. Her physique was lined in bruises, she had a traumatic head damage, human chunk marks and a number of damaged bones. She had been burned by a home iron.

A search of the home and backyard revealed – amongst different issues – do-it-yourself hoods product of plastic luggage and packing tape, in addition to a cricket bat with Sara’s blood on it. It was a brutal finish to the lifetime of a lady remembered by her former class instructor as spirited, sassy, bubbly, and whose comfortable place was being on the stage.

Sara had cherished enjoying the guitar and dreamed of being on The X Issue. Her favorite color was pink, and her favorite meals was rooster biryani.

An Previous Bailey jury has now discovered Sharif and Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool responsible of homicide. Her uncle, Faisal Malik, has been cleared of her homicide, however discovered responsible of inflicting permitting demise of a kid.

Through the eight-week trial, an image was painted of a younger woman who was let down by these closest to her – the folks she ought to have been in a position to belief.

Sara was in foster care twice by the age of three and was surrounded by violence for all of her brief life.

She was pictured smiling in images, but at dwelling she was being crushed, burned and bitten.

The trial would present repeatedly how Surrey County Council’s youngsters’s companies, Surrey Police and her main faculty have been all conscious of considerations about her household, however none was in a position to provide a lifeline to Sara.

Sara Sharif was born on 11 January 2013 at Wexham Park Hospital, in Slough.

Her father had come to the UK from Pakistan to check. He married Sara’s mom, Olga Domin – who was Polish and spoke little English – in Woking, in 2009.

It turned clear through the trial that Surrey County Council youngsters’s companies have been concerned with the household as early as 2011, two years earlier than Sara was born. This was due to considerations of violence, together with towards different youngsters. Sharif had been arrested for assaulting Ms Domin in November 2010.

From nearly as quickly as Sara was born she was beneath a care order. A social employee made frequent visits to the household dwelling. And she or he was briefly taken into foster care in November 2014.

Ms Domin had been accused of assaulting one other little one, however had later accused Sharif of hitting her and different youngsters, and of controlling and violent behaviour.

Surrey Police was conscious of earlier allegations of violence made towards Sharif. Two former girlfriends had accused him of false imprisonment in 2007 and 2009.

After a short interval in foster care, Sara returned dwelling. However the subsequent yr she was in foster care once more. When her dad and mom separated for good, she began residing together with her mom, at first in a girls’s refuge. Sharif was solely allowed supervised contact.

One of many social employees concerned with Sara’s case recorded in his notes that when Sharif went over to Sara throughout one session, she shouted at him to “go away”. Mr Lewis additionally famous there was a dialog about how he “hit mummy within the mouth and made her bleed” and one other about Sharif kicking Ms Domin.

Earlier than Sharif break up up with Sara’s mom, he had met one other girl, Beinash Batool, a buyer at his taxi enterprise.

The court docket heard Sara remained together with her mom till Easter 2019, when Sharif stated she had advised him Ms Domin had been violent to her. Sara apparently stated her mom had smacked her, pinched her, and tried to burn her with a lighter. Sharif recorded among the allegations in a video.

For the second time since Sara was born, social companies turned concerned in assessing who she ought to stay with.

In October 2019, Guildford Household Court docket dominated Sara ought to return to stay together with her father and her new stepmother, Beinash Batool.

By this time Sharif and Batool have been residing in a small floor flooring flat in West Byfleet, and Sara began going to the native St Mary’s Main College.

Nevertheless it was clear to these on the road that every one was not effectively in the home. One upstairs neighbour, Rebecca Spencer, described them as a “nightmare household”. She advised the court docket she heard banging and hysterical screaming.

On one event, when it reached “fever pitch”, she advised jurors she had gone to the handle to ask if every part was OK. Batool advised her “sure, sure” earlier than she “had the door shut in my face”.

One other neighbour, Chloe Redwin, advised the court docket she heard frequent smacking and yelling, and Batool swearing. She stated the one time it was quiet was after they have been away on vacation.

The court docket heard not one of the neighbours was apprehensive sufficient to name the police or social companies.

In December 2020, Batool despatched her sister Qandeela Saboohi some footage of Sara with apparent bruises.

Over the subsequent two years she despatched frequent messages to her sisters about Sharif “beating the crap out of Sara”, leaving her “lined in bruises” and unable to stroll. She claimed that one evening Sharif saved Sara up all evening doing sit-ups.

In a single message she stated she had needed to push Sharif out of the best way to avoid wasting Sara. Neither Batool nor her sisters referred to as the police or social companies.

Batool advised her household Sara was being bullied at college. Her class instructor Helen Simmons remembered that she “didn’t maintain mates very simply”, however stated Sara “cherished to be on the stage and singing and performing – that was her comfortable area”. Sara additionally loved being a member of the “Cool Carers’ Membership” for youngsters who tackle extra accountability at dwelling.

Her headteacher, Jacquie Chambers, recalled Sara as an “absolute chatterbox” who dreamed of being on The X Issue.

“We’ll at all times keep in mind her as that basically assured, very smiley, filled with vitality and life little woman. She was a extremely vibrant, large character. And she or he would speak the ear off anybody who would hear.”

Considerations grew about Sara in June 2022 when she was taken out of faculty to be home-schooled.

“It was a trigger for concern as a result of it fell very a lot out of the blue,” Ms Simmons advised the trial. Sara returned for the brand new educational yr in September.

It was round this time that Sara began carrying a hijab. In a house video in July 2022, which was proven to the jury, Sharif was seen slapping Sara 4 occasions on her cheeks.

Regardless of the hijab overlaying a lot of her head, by March 2023 Ms Simmons was seeing accidents on Sara’s face. First, on 10 March, she noticed a bruise on the underside of her chin and one on her cheek.

“They didn’t appear to be recent bruises,” she stated. Sara stated she had fallen over on some roller-skates, however her account appeared inconsistent. She advised one faculty buddy she had fallen off her bike.

The college was apprehensive sufficient that they referred the incident to social companies. For the third time, Surrey County Council’s youngsters companies turned concerned in Sara’s case. After a six-day investigation, the council advised the varsity no additional motion was being taken, however requested the varsity to “monitor” the scenario.

The college additionally recorded that Batool was seen utilizing very specific and abusive swearwords in Punjabi through the faculty drop-off, the court docket heard.

On 28 March, Sara got here to high school with one other bruise. Batool advised Ms Simmons the damage had been attributable to a pen. All this was once more meticulously recorded by St Mary’s.

The next month the household lastly moved out of the tiny two-bedroom council flat with a shared backyard in West Byfleet, to a much bigger semi-detached home in Woking, additionally owned by Surrey County Council. Faisal Malik, Sara’s uncle, had been residing with the household for about 4 months by this level, and he additionally moved into the brand new home.

From this second Sara by no means went again to high school. Sharif wrote a cursory e mail to St Mary’s saying that his daughter was being home-schooled once more.

Any likelihood of the varsity monitoring Sara was now over.

Judy Lozeron lived subsequent door to the Sharifs in Woking.

She usually watched Sara within the backyard, quietly taking care of the infant of the household whereas the opposite youngsters performed.

“She appeared to be very connected to the infant,” she stated.

However she by no means noticed any indicators of damage, and by no means heard any shouting or arguing in the home subsequent door. The one factor she seen was Sara’s manner.

“I did not see her smile, and I believe that’s unusual, however there was no cause for us to suspect anything.”

On 25 Could, one other message about Sara from Batool to her sister learn: “He beat her up like loopy. Her oxygen stage dropped actually low, she’s discovering it arduous to remain awake. She’s respiratory actually, actually quickly.”

Because the summer season wore on, largely out of earshot of the neighbours, the torture of Sara accelerated. In the previous couple of weeks of her life she was bitten, branded on her backside with an iron, and hooded with plastic luggage held in place by packing tape.

Sharif admitted hitting her with a cricket bat and beating her with a white metallic pole that was a part of a excessive chair. He additionally hit her over her head with a cell phone. However the bites marks on her physique did not match Sharif’s dental impressions, the court docket was advised. He denied burning Sara with an iron.

Sara had began vomiting and was carrying a nappy as a result of she was soiling herself. In these previous couple of weeks she sustained a minimum of 25 damaged bones and a traumatic mind damage.

At no level was she ever taken to hospital.

One afternoon in early August, Fiona Mellon, whose again backyard ignored the Sharifs’, heard a piercing scream that immediately lower brief.

On Sunday 6 August 2023, Sara was filmed at dwelling by Batool dancing in entrance of the TV, seemingly OK. Later that day her stepmother’s lawyer stated her father beat her once more.

On Tuesday 8 August, Sara’s physique may take no extra and she or he began to visibly deteriorate. Sharif determined she was pretending and hit her once more on her abdomen with the metallic pole.

Later that evening one in every of her siblings texted a buddy:

“Whats up”

“Pressing”

“My sister simply handed away”

When Sara died, it was the tip of a life by which violence had develop into utterly normalised, the prosecution advised the trial.

Social companies had been intermittently concerned with the household for greater than a decade; her father had been arrested a minimum of thrice for violence towards adults; and her faculty had raised considerations about bruising. It leaves questions on whether or not her demise may have been averted.

One key query is whether or not there needs to be a greater method of monitoring pupils about whom there are considerations when they’re taken out of faculty.

Annie Hudson, who chairs the Little one Safeguarding Apply Evaluate Panel for England, stated susceptible youngsters might be extra in danger when pulled out of faculty.

“They’re out of sight, they don’t have the protecting care of being in class, and all that brings,” she added.

Within the rapid aftermath of Sara’s demise, Surrey County Council commissioned a speedy evaluation of its involvement together with her.

This led to a extra detailed native little one safeguarding evaluation, which is now wanting on the roles of Surrey Police, St Mary’s Main College, the NHS and Surrey County Council.

It should examine the on-and-off engagement with Sara by youngsters’s companies.

The evaluation will take a look at the six-day investigation into the bruising seen by Sara’s class instructor 5 months earlier than she died. That investigation didn’t lead to any motion by the county council towards the dad and mom, only a suggestion the varsity monitor Sara.

However the lecturers have been unable to try this as soon as Sara was taken out of faculty.

Rachael Wardell, government director for youngsters, households and lifelong studying at Surrey County Council, stated: “We’re resolute in our dedication to defending youngsters, and we’re decided to play a full and lively half within the forthcoming evaluation alongside accomplice companies, to completely perceive the broader circumstances surrounding Sara’s tragic demise.”

She stated the entire image would solely be clear when the impartial safeguarding evaluation concludes.

“Sara’s demise is extremely distressing and we share within the profound horror on the horrible particulars which have emerged through the trial. We can not start to grasp the struggling that poor Sara endured.”

A polka-dot painted bench now stands within the playground of Sara’s old-fashioned. It has a plaque on it which reads: Sara’s buddy bench.

Ms Chambers, the headteacher, stated Sara was “such a particular little woman”. “It’s arduous to place into phrases really,” she added. “I don’t suppose I’ve ever identified such unhappiness.”