Skip to main content

Father of 10-year-old girl found dead in the U.K. called police from Pakistan to say he killed her

Sara Sharif is shown in this undated photo. The 10-year-old girl was found dead in Woking, southwest of London, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Surrey Police via AP) Sara Sharif is shown in this undated photo. The 10-year-old girl was found dead in Woking, southwest of London, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Surrey Police via AP)
Share
LONDON -

The father of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her home in England fled to Pakistan and called U.K. police from there to say he had killed her, a jury heard Monday.

Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at London's Central Criminal Court accused of Sara Sharif's murder alongside his partner, Beinash Batool, and brother, Faisal Malik.

Opening the trial, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones said all three defendants had played a part in a "campaign of abuse" against Sara in the weeks leading to her death.

Police found Sara's body under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in Woking, southwest of London, on Aug. 10, 2023, with dozens of injuries including extensive bruising, burns and fractures. A post-mortem examination concluded she died of unnatural causes.

Emlyn Jones said the discovery was made after her father called the police from Pakistan, saying: "I've killed my daughter. I legally punished her, and she died." He also told the phone operator it wasn't his intention to kill her but he had "beat her up too much," the prosecutor told jurors.

Urfan Sharif, Batool and Malik had left the U.K. for Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, on Aug. 9.

Police in Pakistan found the three suspects after an extensive search and put them on a flight to the U.K. They were arrested upon arrival at London's Gatwick Airport and held in prison to await trial.

Emlyn Jones said all three had lived in the same house as Sara and that it was "inconceivable" that just one of them had acted alone.

He alleged that each of the suspects sought to point the finger at the others. He said Sharif's case was that Batool, Sara's stepmother, was responsible for the girl's death, and he made a false confession to protect her.

The jury heard a recording of a phone call made on the evening of Aug. 8, 2023, the day Sara was believed to have died, in which Batool could be heard asking about booking a flight to Islamabad for four adults and four children.

The trio deny murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

The trial is expected to continue until December.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

opinion

opinion Why the new U.S. administration won't have much time for us

In a column for CTVNews.ca, former Conservative Party political advisor and strategist Rudy Husny says that when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes to the G-20 summit next week, it will look more like his goodbye tour.

U.S. Congress hosts second round of UFO hearings

The U.S. government held another UFO hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, the second such hearing in 16 months. This hearing was billed as an attempt by congress to provide a better understanding of what is known about previous sightings of UFOs, also known as UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena).

Local Spotlight