Footage of Sara Sharif’s Father Slapping Her Presented to Jury

Jurors have been presented with a video depicting Sara Sharif’s father striking his daughter, an incident that occurred less than 13 months prior to her death from multiple injuries. The home video, recorded in July 2022, shows Urfan Sharif seated on a bed, interacting with a newborn infant and Sara, who already had a visible mark on her cheek. He strikes her, and she maintains a smile, after which he hits her three additional times until she exclaims, “Hey!” Mr. Sharif, aged 42, his co-defendants, Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, have all pleaded not guilty to charges of both murder and causing or allowing the death of the ten-year-old during their proceedings at the Old Bailey. Sara’s remains were found in a bunkbed within her residence in Woking, Surrey, on August 10, 2023. The jury had previously been informed that she had endured being hooded, burned, bitten, and beaten over a period exceeding two years of abuse. The jury was informed that the footage was captured two days following the baby’s birth. Sara appeared to be smiling and had a mark on her cheek covered with cream. Caroline Carberry KC, representing Ms. Batool, stated that the cream was Sudocrem. Sara was heard telling the baby, “Come to me,” when her father struck her on the cheek where the mark was located. She maintained her smile, and her father proceeded to hit her at least three additional times. The video concludes after Sara utters, “Hey!” Mr. Sharif was observed smiling while the video was presented in court. Ms. Carberry KC questioned him, “Did you find that funny?” He responded, “I have not seen my daughter for a long time.” When questioned about why he struck his daughter, he stated, “This is not slap ma’am.” Ms. Carberry KC inquired, “Why did you slap her face at all?” “This not slap. You can she how happy she was with me. I was saying coochie, coochie, coochie,” he replied. Ms. Carberry commented, “She didn’t even flinch at all because she’s so used to it.” The court was also informed that Sara had yelled at her father to “go away” during supervised visits when she was a toddler. She reportedly shouted at Mr. Sharif in 2015, a period when she was not residing with him, as documented in notes by a social worker who witnessed the interaction. Mr. Sharif informed Ms. Carberry KC that the social worker’s observations were inaccurate. He asserted, “She was not even talking at that time. She started talking at the age of three.” Ms. Carberry KC additionally reviewed a series of accusations leveled against Mr. Sharif, including that he unlawfully detained an 18-year-old woman, struck his first wife in the mouth causing bleeding, kicked her, issued death threats, and consistently used profanity. He refuted all these claims, stating that the social worker’s records were incorrect. Ms. Carberry KC noted that he had also participated in only four of the 10 sessions for a “parenting puzzle” course. Mr. Sharif confirmed that upon meeting Ms. Batool, he was 32 or 33 years old while she was 20, and that their relationship initially began as casual. Ms. Carberry KC characterized Ms. Batool as a “vulnerable young woman” who was estranged from her family and facing difficulties. Mr. Sharif countered, “She is anything but vulnerable.” Ms. Carberry KC then inquired, “Do you remember cutting her clothes with scissors?” “No ma’am,” Mr. Sharif replied, adding, “She’s a psycho. That is her thing.” He further elaborated, “She’s a psycho and is obsessed with cutting clothes.” It was revealed in court that he had informed social services that they constituted “a perfect couple.” The Guildford Family Court subsequently mandated Mr. Sharif to participate in a Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme. He completed 10 of the 16 required sessions, as heard by the court. The jury was informed that in 2019, Sara resided with her mother, Olga Sharif, but subsequently made claims of neglect and violence against her. She alleged that her mother was consuming cannabis, failing to feed her, leaving her unsupervised with another child, and burning her with a lighter. Mr. Sharif documented these allegations in a video recording. This resulted in a court directive for Sara to live with her father and his new spouse, Ms. Batool. Caroline Carberry KC stated, “She treated [her] as her own.” “That’s what I thought,” Mr. Sharif responded. He was then asked, “[She] seemed to love Beinash more than [she] loved you?” “That’s right ma’am,” he affirmed. The legal proceedings are ongoing.