25 Fractures and Bite Marks: Autopsy Reveals Shocking Abuse in British-Pakistani Girl’s Death

London: Urfan Sharif (42), the father of 10-year-old Pakistani girl Sara Sharif, has confessed to killing his daughter. However, he claimed that he did not intend to harm her and that the physical assault was meant as a form of “discipline” for the schoolgirl.   

Sharif, during his trial, confessed to repeatedly striking Sara in the abdomen and other parts of her body with a cricket bat and a metal pole, even as she lay dying. Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at London’s Central Criminal Court accused of Sara’s murder alongside his partner, Beinash Batool, and brother, Faisal Malik. 

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.  

Why Was Sara Sharif Beaten by Her Father?

Urfan Sharif confessed that his anger toward his daughter Sara, who had soiled herself and vomited, led him to repeatedly beat her over the course of several weeks. He admitted to striking her severely, including hitting her in the face for being sick at the breakfast table. Concerned that the visible injury marks would raise suspicion at school, Sharif stopped Sara from attending school and rather opted for homeschooling instead. He acknowledged that the multiple fractures and injury marks found on Sara’s body were the result of his violent assault. 

Autopsy Reveals Chilling Details

The postmortem revealed that Sara had sustained 71 external injuries along with multiple fractures. Doctors also found a severe neck injury that had broken her hyoid bone, as well as burns and human bite marks on her body, according to The Guardian.    

Sara Sharf Death Case: What Happened So Far 

Last month, during the opening of the trial, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones said all three defendants (Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool, and brother, Faisal Malik) had played a part in a “campaign of abuse” against Sara in the weeks leading to her death. 

Urfan Sharif, Batool and Malik had left the U.K. for Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, on Aug 9, 2023.

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.