Sara Sharif’s father given murder trial date as court hears girl suffered a ‘constellation’ of injuries
Sara Sharif’s father will face trial for her murder next year after a court heard the 10-year-old suffered a “constellation” of injuries culminating in her death.
Urfan Sharif allegedly fled the UK to Pakistan with Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool and his brother Faisal Malik the day before her body was found in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August.
They are alleged to have travelled with five children who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Sharif, 41, Batool, 29, and Malik, 28, appeared at the Old Bailey in London today following their return from Pakistan on Wednesday 13 September.
They were arrested at Gatwick Airport.
All three are charged with murdering Sara and causing or allowing the death of a child.
A six-week trial at the Old Bailey was provisionally set to start on 2 September 2024.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC, the Recorder of London, said a plea hearing will take place on 1 December this year.
Surrey Police found Sara’s body after receiving a call from Pakistan which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds at 2.47am on 10 August, the court heard.
The defendants’ flight to Pakistan had been booked two days earlier on 8 August, the court was told.
Officers arrived at the family home and found the young girl lying face up and fully clothed under a blanket in a bunk bed in an upstairs room.
She was identified using the DNA of her mother, Olga Sharif, who lives in Somerset, and another relative.
Prosecutor Giles Bedloe told the court that Sara was found to have “a constellation of healed and healing injuries”.
They allegedly included a healed fracture to her collar bone, a healed fracture to the hyoid bone in her neck, multiple rib fractures, bruising to her torso and limbs, and a brain haemorrhage.
Sara Sharif. Pic: AP
Mr Bedloe alleged: “It follows Sara had been subjected to multiple events of violence over a sustained period of time that must have culminated in her death.”
He added: “There is quite a significant amount of post-mortem work ongoing and that will continue.”
Sharif, Batool and Malik appeared at the Old Bailey by video-link from Belmarsh high-security jail in south London and Bronzefield women’s prison in Surrey today.
They spoke only to confirm their identities and dates of birth before a timetable was set for their case.
Judge Lucraft said a decision will be made later on whether the trial should be heard by a High Court judge.
The defendants were all remanded into custody until their next hearing.
A man has been arrested by police investigating a “significant” wildfire that triggered a major incident in Northern Ireland.
More than 100 firefighters and 15 fire appliances were deployed on Saturday to Sandbank Road, Hilltown, to tackle the blaze which is believed to have been caused deliberately, fire chiefs said.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”.
It was extinguished at 2.53am on Sunday and the major incident status lifted, the NIFRS said.
“The cause of this fire is believed to have been deliberate,” chief fire and rescue officer Aidan Jennings said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Sunday that a 25-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, and non-related driving offences”.
“He remains in custody at this time as enquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding the fire,” the force added.
The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
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Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.
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