Sara Sharif’s Father Accused of ‘Controlling the Narrative’ in Court

Jurors at the Old Bailey were informed that the father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif is “controlling the narrative even now”. During earlier cross-examination, Urfan Sharif had acknowledged “full responsibility” for Sara’s death, which occurred in Woking, but stated he did not intend to kill her. Mr. Sharif, aged 43, along with Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, have all pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and causing or allowing the death of a child. On Tuesday, during his closing address to the jury, Michael Ivers KC, representing Mr. Malik, asserted that his client bore “not responsible for the sins of his brother”. Mr. Ivers KC further stated: “He [Mr Malik] gave his teeth marks because he’d never bitten, he’d never burnt, he’d never hit, he’d never done anything.” He continued: “The reason there isn’t a single piece of evidence that he did is that he simply didn’t.” Mr. Ivers KC characterized the evidence presented against his client as “entirely circumstantial”. Additionally, Mr. Ivers KC remarked that it was “bluntly laughable” to suggest that the evidence against Sara’s uncle mirrored that against the other co-defendants. He subsequently declared: “There just isn’t any evidence. There isn’t even a strong circumstantial case, it’s entirely lacking, it’s all based on must-haves.“The idea that we started this trial with the position that my client was always at home…has been shown to be laughably wrong.” Earlier in the proceedings, the court was informed that Sara had endured over two years of abuse, including being hooded, burned, and beaten, prior to the discovery of her body with numerous injuries at her family’s Surrey residence last year. Mr. Ivers KC informed the jurors: “You don’t have to be Mystic Meg in this case to realise that there’s an issue in and around causation.” He stated: “In a nutshell, he [Mr Sharif] accepted a beating that he had delivered on the 6th and there was then some breaks ….in the end we got to a position where the indictment wasn’t put again.“What if it was, what if he had pleaded guilty….and the Crown were asking questions based upon what had happened on the 6th?“If he’d said yes, if he’d said guilty, do you think anybody would be scratching around trying to add a bruise to a bite etc…etc…some cumulative effect when the answer is staring at you in the face about what caused her death.“Urfan Sharif is controlling the narrative even now.” In his testimony, Mr. Sharif subsequently denied assaulting Sara on August 6, 2023, which was two days before her death. Mr. Ivers KC commented: “The reason it’s now denied is that it’s simply put in all likelihood… that it’s the beating that in the end led to her death.” The closing arguments have concluded, and the judge has commenced summarizing the case for the jury.