The father, stepmother, and uncle of 10-year-old Sara Sharif have been convicted of charges related to her death, but questions still linger as to how the abuse she endured for years could have gone undetected by authorities.
Urfan Sharif, 43, and his wife, Beinash Batool 30, were convicted of murder. Sharif's brother, Faisal Malike, 29, was found guilty of causing or allowing Sara's death. The family lived in Surrey in the United Kingdom.
The eight-week trial highlighted the abuse Sharif endured over several years. A postmortem found Sara had 71 external injuries, including bruises, burns, and human bite marks. She also had at least 25 fractures, including 11 to her spine, The Guardian reported.
Shairf's father, Urfan, fled to Pakistan on Aug. 10, 2023, along with her stepmother Beinash Batool, and her uncle Faisal Malik. From Pakistan, Urfan called authorities to report his daughter's death. During the trial, Urfan admitted to various forms of abuse, but denied intending to kill his daughter.
The Independent reported that Urfan admitted to on the stand that he had bound his daughter with brown packing tape before beating her with a pole or cricket bat. He also said that he had repeatedly hit her in the head with a cell phone and had, on more than one occasion, wrapped his hands around her neck.
Urfan also left authorities a three-page note in which he said he had "lost it" while beating his daughter for being naughty.
"I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her."
Despite the open admissions of abuse, Urfan had pleaded not guilty to criminal charges.
The Guardian reported that authorities had frequent contact with Urfan. At one point, he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a baby and a child. Beginning in 2007, there were reports of his abuse directed toward three different women in his life, including Sara's birth mother, Olga Domin. Each time Urfan was released with out charges. In 2019, Urfan won custody of Sara over Domin.
According to prosecutors, Sara endured "a living hell" with Urfan described as a "violent, controlling bully," The Guardian reported.
