Sara Sharif’s father, stepmother and uncle plead not responsible to homicide

Sara Sharif‘s father, stepmother and uncle have pleaded not responsible to the 10-year-old’s homicide on the Old Bailey on Thursday.

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 41, stepmother Beinash Batool, 29, and Sharif’s brother Faisal Malik, 28, are all charged with homicide and inflicting or permitting the dying of a kid after she was found in a property in Woking on August 10. 

All three fled the UK along with her siblings earlier than alerting authorities to her dying.

They appeared on the Old Bailey right this moment through video hyperlink and all denied each prices.

Batool appeared through video hyperlink from HMP Bronzefield sporting a black jumper whereas Sharif and Malik appeared sat collectively at HMP Belmarsh sporting gray jail issued tracksuits.

Sara Sharif (pictured) was discovered useless and alone in her household’s dwelling close to Woking, Surrey, on August 10

Urfan Sharif and his companion Beinash Batool are charged with homicide and inflicting or permitting the dying of a kid

Faisal Malik, brother of Urfan Sharif, can be charged over the dying of the ten-year-old lady

The defendants spoke solely to substantiate their names and deny the offences.

They are charged with homicide on or about 8 August 2023 and inflicting or permitting the dying of a kid between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023.

The second cost alleges they every prompted or have been conscious of a ‘important threat of significant bodily hurt being prompted’ to Sara, and that they ‘did not take full steps as may have fairly been anticipated to guard her from that threat.’

Police dashed to the house after receiving a telephone name from Pakistan from her father at 2.47am, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds. 

A autopsy revealed she had suffered ‘a number of and intensive accidents’ over a ‘sustained and prolonged’ time frame together with damaged ribs, bruising and a mind haemorrhage earlier than her dying.

Officers discovered her physique ‘absolutely clothed’ underneath a quilt in a bunk mattress together with two handwritten notes ‘tucked underneath the pillows underneath the kid’s head’. 

An worldwide manhunt was launched for the three adults after they went into hiding in Pakistan after fleeing to Islamabad with 5 kids aged between one and 13 years outdated.

After greater than a month the three lastly returned to the UK on September 13. 

The couple’s remaining kids have been taken into custody by police. 

Prosecutor Giles Bedloe earlier mentioned: ‘These defendants have been charged with the homicide of 10-year-old Sara Sharif in addition to the offence of permitting her dying.

‘In the upstairs bed room on a set of bunk beds attending officers pulled again the blanket and located the physique of a younger lady.

Police dashed to Sara’s dwelling after receiving a telephone name from Pakistan from her father at 2.47am, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds 

Batool (left), Malik (centre) and Sharif (proper) at a earlier court docket listening to in September

‘She was absolutely clothed on the centre of the mattress mendacity face up.

‘Sara sustained quite a few accidents – a healed fracture to one among her clavicles, a number of rib fractures, a number of bruising to the torso and limbs and the presence of haemorrhage on her mind.

‘There have been a number of therapeutic fractures on completely different components of physique suggesting a number of occasions of violence over a time frame which will need to have culminated in her dying.’

Detailing the cost of inflicting or permitting the dying of a kid, Recorder of London Mr Lucraft mentioned: ‘The cost is as follows; that, between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023, you, having been an individual who was the member of the identical family of, and had frequent contact with Sara Sharif, who died on or round 8 August, you both:

‘A) prompted Sara Sharif’s dying through your individual illegal act, or B) you should have been conscious of the chance of her dying and also you did not take the steps as may have been fairly anticipated to guard her from that threat.’

A provisional six week trial date earlier than a High Court decide is ready for two September 2024.

The defendants will subsequent seem for a case administration listening to on 26 January.

This is a breaking information story and is being up to date.