Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, whose death followed a prolonged campaign of abuse and torture. At the Old Bailey, Sharif, 43, was given a minimum term of 40 years, while Batool, 30, was sentenced to at least 33 years. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, received a 16-year sentence for causing or allowing her death.
Sara’s body was discovered at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023. She had suffered over 70 external injuries, including burns, probable human bite marks, fractures, and a traumatic brain injury. Her father left a handwritten note near her body admitting to beating her to death, but later retracted the claim before ultimately accepting full responsibility during his trial.
The court heard harrowing details of the abuse Sara endured, described by Justice Cavanagh as a “campaign of torture” lasting two years. She was hooded, burned, beaten, and subjected to repeated assaults with objects such as a cricket bat, metal pole, and rolling pin. By January 2023, she had begun wearing a hijab to conceal bruises from her school, which raised concerns before she was withdrawn for home-schooling in April.
Sharif, Batool, and Malik fled to Pakistan with Sara’s five siblings the day after her death. From Islamabad, Sharif called UK police, claiming he had “legally punished” Sara and that she had died. The family evaded capture for weeks, hiding in cornfields and relying on locals for shelter, before being located by Pakistani police in September. While the three adults returned to the UK shortly after, Sara’s siblings remain in Pakistan under temporary care as legal battles over their custody continue.
During the trial, Sharif claimed that Sara’s injuries occurred when she fell down the stairs and that he beat her only for “pretending” to be hurt. He admitted to inflicting the fatal injuries but denied biting or burning her, allegations that were substantiated by forensic evidence. Batool and Malik chose not to give evidence.
The abuse and systemic failures surrounding Sara’s case have sparked national outcry. NSPCC acting chief executive Maria Neophytou called for substantial reform in safeguarding services, highlighting gaps that allowed such severe abuse to go undetected. Justice Cavanagh underscored the risks of unsupervised home-schooling for vulnerable children, while Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced a new register to identify children not attending school as part of a broader children’s bill introduced the same day.
Sara’s mother, Olga Domin, described the defendants as “sadists” and expressed profound grief over losing her daughter. “She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven. She is no longer experiencing violence,” Domin said in a statement.
The case has intensified calls for safeguarding reforms and stricter oversight of home-schooling, as questions linger over how such abuse went unnoticed and unaddressed for so long.
