‘Formidable case’ made against Sara Sharif murder accused

A “formidable case” has been made to find Sara Sharif’s father, stepmother and uncle guilty of her murder, after the campaign of abuse, jurors have been told.

Urfan Sharif, 42, Beinash Batool, 30, and Faisal Malik, 29, are on trial at the Old Bailey over the 10-year-old’s death at the family home in Woking, Surrey, last August.

Sara suffered a “daily living hell” and died from the cumulative effects of the violence over many months, rather than a single injury or assault, the court heard.

Her father, Sharif, has admitted he repeatedly beat Sara with a cricket bat, metal pole and mobile phone, but he has denied biting her, putting her in a homemade hood and burning her with an iron and boiling water.

On Thursday, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC suggested all three defendants were responsible, amid a “culture of violence” which was “normalised” in the household.

Despite Batool and Malik’s decision not to give evidence, it was a “formidably strong case” against them by “the fact they lived with Sara as she was gradually being beaten to death”, he said.

In a closing speech, Mr Emlyn Jones said it was “inconceivable” that one of the defendants could have done it without the complicity and encouragement of the others.

He said: “None of the injuries was reported to or shown to a doctor or staff at her school.

“Positive steps were taken to cover the abuse up throughout those months.

“None of the defendants did anything to prevent the abuse of Sara, as they surely would have done if they were not complicit in it.

“If you know it is happening you do something to prevent it. None of them did because they were, and are, all responsible for her death and they all are guilty of her murder.”

He suggested Batool and Malik’s silence in police interviews and in court could be held against them by the jury.

He said jurors would have to be sure that when Sharif, by his own admission, beat Sara, he meant to cause her “at least serious harm”.

In the case of Batool and Malik, they would have to consider if they played a part by their own acts of violence or by “assisting or encouraging” others.

the cause of Sara’s death was said by a pathologist to be “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect”.

Mr Emlyn Jones told jurors: “The point has been made not every injury was in of itself a fatal injury, that is conveniently to ignore the cumulative effect.

“You are not required to find a specific fatal injury, it is simply not possible. Sara was killed by the combined effect of what she suffered over time.

“The test is whether each defendant is responsible for any assault either by carrying them out or by assisting or encouraging the assault or assaults.

“Urfan Sharif cannot hide behind the others and say ‘yes I did do that, and the other but I did not deal the final blow’.

“Neither can Batool and Malik hide behind Sharif and say he is the real villain here if you are sure they played their part.”

Mr Emlyn Jones suggested jurors would have no trouble in finding Sharif guilty of murder, as they did not need to decide if he caused all Sara’s injuries.

He said Sharif had fostered over the years a “culture of violent discipline where assaults of Sara had become completely routine, completely normalised”.

That was done with the “mutual understanding” among all the defendants, the court was told.

The defendants have denied Sara’s murder, causing or allowing her death and an alternative charge of manslaughter.