Three members of British-Pakistani Sara Sharif’s family have been found guilty over the 10-year-old’s death after years of horrific abuse.
Her father Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, were found guilty of her murder and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was convicted of causing or allowing her death following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Justice Cavanagh adjourned sentencing until next Tuesday, telling jurors the case had been “extremely stressful and traumatic”.
Sara was beaten to death four years after taxi driver Urfan was awarded custody, despite accusations of abuse against him, jurors heard.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Sara had suffered a litany of injuries, including burns, broken bones and bite marks.
Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 43, and his wife Beinash Batool, 30, stood trial at London’s Old Bailey court charged with her murder, which they denied.
The jury convicted Urfan Sharif and Batool of Sara’s murder. Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death.
Urfan and Batool will be sentenced on December 17.
Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Urfan had called the police and said: “It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.”
Urfan gave evidence and initially denied responsibility for Sara’s death. He accepted slapping Sara to discipline her but denied beating her in a regular or sustained way.
But, under questioning from Batool’s lawyer Caroline Carberry, he later said he took “full responsibility” for his daughter’s death.
Lawyers for Batool, who did not give evidence, said Urfan was violent and controlling and that she was scared of him.
