Sara Sharif’s murder: Father, stepmother sentenced to life imprisonment

Sara Sharif’s mother has condemned her daughter’s killers as “sadists and executioners” after her former partner, Urfan Sharif, 43, and his wife, Beinash Batool, 30, were handed life sentences for the brutal murder of the 10-year-old.

During the sentencing at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, Olga Domin joined the proceedings remotely and expressed her anguish at the loss of her daughter. Addressing the killers, she said: “You are sadists, although even this word is not enough for you. I would say you are executioners.”

Justice Cavanagh described the abuse inflicted on Sara as “torture” and rebuked the pair for showing “not a shred of remorse”. The court heard that Sara had been subjected to prolonged violence, starting at the age of six, with weapons that included a cricket bat, an improvised metal truncheon made from a high chair leg, and a domestic iron.

Sharif and Batool were convicted of murder last Wednesday after an eight-week trial, while Sara’s paternal uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, who lived with the family, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of causing or allowing her death. Malik received a 16-year prison sentence.

Sharif was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison, while Batool will serve at least 33 years. Justice Cavanagh, his voice trembling, described the violence Sara endured as “nothing short of gruesome.”

In her victim impact statement, Domin remembered Sara’s bright personality: “Sara was always smiling. She had a unique character. The only thing I had left to give to my daughter was to give her a beautiful Catholic funeral that she deserves. She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven, she is no longer experiencing violence.

“To this day I can’t understand how someone can be such a sadist to a child. I hoped that when she grew up we would meet, but now that won’t happen, she left us too soon.”

The court was told that Sara’s body was discovered fully dressed in a bunk bed at the family home in Surrey on 10 August 2023. Sharif had fled to Pakistan with Batool and their family two days earlier, later phoning police to admit that he had “beaten her up too much” for misbehaving. A handwritten note found near Sara’s body read: “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC emphasized the severity of the case, describing it as “bristling with aggravating features” and highlighting that Sara had endured “an unimaginable level of pain” over a prolonged period. He added: “This is a case involving a gross breach of trust because the deceased was the defendant’s own little child. In their care, she suffered this violence in her own home where she ought to have been entitled to feel safe and loved and cared for.”

Taking into account time already spent in custody, Sharif will serve a minimum of 38 years and 272 days, while Batool will serve at least 31 years and 272 days. Malik’s 16-year sentence for his role in allowing Sara’s death also reflects a serious breach of trust.

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