by Sara Sharif’s father tried to save his daughter and begged for an ambulance, only to be told “Leave her, she’s dead”, jurors have heard.
Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering the 10-year-old, along with his stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, 29-year-old Faisal Malik.
Sara was found dead in her bed at her home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August 2023 after Sharif called the Pakistani police to say he had beaten her “too much”.
Jurors heard she suffered multiple injuries, including burns and human bite marks, in a campaign of abuse the prosecution alleged.
On Tuesday, Sharif denied physically abusing and killing Sara as he began to give evidence in his defence.
His lawyer, Naeem Mian KC, asked: “Are you responsible for the death of Sara Sharif?”
The defendant replied: “No.”
Sharif also denied that he cut, burned or hit his daughter with a cricket bat or a white pole.
Jurors heard that Sharif initially decided to take the blame for Sara’s death and go to Pakistan after Batool claimed she had injured another child.
Mr Mian suggested that Sharif was unfairly treated as the “villain of the piece” because he only controlled her with a “slap”.
Sharif was at work when Sara collapsed at home on August 8 last and Batool told him to “come home”, the court heard.
Mr Mian told jurors: “He came home and found her upstairs, with Beinash Batool, spotless. He will tell you that he asked ‘What the hell happened?’, as anyone would have your number.
“When he was told what had happened, he said ‘I’ll take the blame’.
“He will tell you that he tried CPR, that he asked for an ambulance to be called as he did CPR.
“And he was told in Urdu or Punjabi ‘Leave, she’s dead, leave him, she’s dead’.”
The lawyer cast doubt on Batool, pointing out that she refused to compare dental impressions with bite marks on Sara and WhatsApp messages to her sisters in which she claimed that Sharif had beaten her daughter.
Sharif pleaded in the witness box as he described his daughter, saying: “She was beautiful, angelic, beautiful, bubbly … her favorite food was chicken biryani and she hated eating bread.
“Her hobbies were playing guitar and singing, her ambition when she grew up was to be a ballet dancer.”
“Her favorite adult was her grandfather, my father. Her favorite color was pink.”
Mr Mian said: “Have you met your biological daughter, Sara?”
Sharif replied: “I slapped her. I have many faults in my life, but I never hit her. Ever.”
The defendant also denied “controlling” his wife Batool, saying they had a traditional relationship – he worked and she was the “boss” at home.
Sharif claimed that in 2016 Batool hit him on the head with lemon juice when he first wanted to leave and on another occasion attacked him with a broom.
Mr Mian said: “The jury heard a lot of text messages from your wife to her sister and they are for a long time, a few years, and there are a number of text messages that say, for example, ‘Urfan is dating with the crap. from Sara’. Have you ever beaten the crap out of Sara?” The defendant denied it.
Mr Mian continued: “Why would Sara’s stepmother send messages to her sister saying you’re hitting Sara up when you’re not?”
Sharif replied: “I don’t understand why. I’m not even at home at those moments in time, I’m working.”
Jurors heard that Sara went to live with her father after he had an acrimonious split from her biological mother, Olga.
During the custody battle allegations arose from “flying around” on both sides, the court was told.
Sharif said he met his ex-wife online in 2009 and they broke up around 2014.
He alleged that his ex-wife “bitten” another child and “abused” Sara during and after their marriage.
Of her accusations against him, he said: “She accused me of having an affair with Beinash. She accused me of being controlling. She made allegations of domestic violence and child abuse.
“I was arrested once. When I was arrested I took off my shirt and showed them, I was actually the one who abused him. Olga admits that she was violent towards me.”
Mr Mian told jurors that Batool supported Sharif during the custody battle, despite having “true knowledge of the allegations” made against him.
Sharif told jurors he completed a domestic violence program for six months despite denying ever being violent towards his ex-wife.
He said he had pleaded guilty to stealing £1,700 but had no other convictions.
The three defendants, formerly of Hammond Road, Woking, have denied murder and causing or allowing the death of a child between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023.
