Sara Sharif’s father and stepmother have been handed life sentences for murdering the 10-year-old after she suffered years of abuse.
Urfan Sharif, 42, will serve at least 40 years and Beinash Batool, 30, a minimum of 33 years.
Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was also sentenced a minimum of 16 years after being found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child.
Sara Sharif latest: Father and stepmother sentenced for her murder
Sara’s mother Olga Domin, who lives in Poland called them “cowards” in a victim impact statement read out in court, adding: “You are sadists, although even this word isn’t enough for you. You are executioners.”
Sharif, Batool and Malik fled to Pakistan with the rest of their family after Sara was killed at their home in Woking, Surrey, on 8 August last year.
She was found in a bunkbed two days later after minicab driver Sharif called police saying: “I’ve killed my daughter.”
Sharif claimed “I beat her up too much” because “she was naughty”, adding: “I legally punished her, and she died.”
He had also written a three-page note found tucked under Sara’s pillow which said: “Love you Sara” and “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her but I lost it”.
Sara was found to have sustained more than 70 injuries, including bruises, broken bones, burns and bite marks, the Old Bailey heard.
Prosecutors said she had suffered a “brutal” campaign of “appalling” abuse from at lest the age of six.
She was tied up, covered with a makeshift hood, beaten with a cricket bat, burnt with an iron and bitten, in the weeks before her death.
Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik.
Pic: Surrey Police
Sharif and Batool were found guilty of murder following a trial, while McDonald’s worker Malik, who also lived in the house, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child.
The three adults, along with five children, were captured on CCTV at Heathrow Airport, where they boarded a flight to Islamabad the day after Sara’s death.
They were arrested as they returned to Gatwick Airport on 13 September.
Police said the case had “shocked and horrified” people around the world and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is among those who have called for answers after a series of opportunities were missed to protect Sara.
The family fled to Pakistan after Sara’s murder Pic: Surrey Police/PA
The three adults were arrested at Gatwick upon their return to the UK Pic: Surrey Police
Sharif had been arrested over allegations made by three different women, including domestic violence and making threats to kill, between 2007 and 2010.
Sara’s father and mother Olga Sharif were known to social services as far back as 2010 and concerns were raised about her care within a week of her birth in 2013.
Surrey County Council repeatedly raised “significant concerns” that Sara was likely to suffer physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her parents.
But she kept being returned to their care before finally being placed with her father and stepmother at their home in Woking in 2019 following three sets of family court proceedings.
Prosecutors said Sara started wearing a hijab to hide her injuries before she was taken out of school to be educated at home in April 2023 after teachers spotted bruises on her face and referred her to social services – but the case was closed after six days.
Surrey County Council has said an independently-led safeguarding review of all professionals who had contact with Sara is under way.
