Sara Sharif murder case: Jury out to deliberate on verdicts

LONDON: In a major development in the 10-year-old Sara Sharif murder case, the jurors have retired to deliberate on their verdicts.

High Court Judge Justice Cavanagh has finished summing up the murder case of Sara Sharif, sending the jury home to start their deliberations.

The jury was told to come back to court on Wednesday as they were told to take their time without worrying about time pressure.

The judge told the jury that everyone in the trial deserved their thoughtful consideration and complete attention.

The jury of nine women and three men has been asked to return with unanimous verdicts if they can, while they may also consider manslaughter for each defendant as an alternative charge to murder.

The father, stepmother, and uncle of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was found dead at her home in a Surrey village last year, had been indicted following their return to the UK from Pakistan.

Read more: Sara Sharif murder: Father, other accused arrested on return to UK

The three accused Urfan Sharif 41, Beinash Batool 29, and Faisal Malik,28 were arrested upon their arrival in London.

All were charged with her murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

However, the trio denied the murder accusations against them. The court indicted them with charges of causing or allowing the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif.

The case

Sara Sharif was a 10-year-old British national. Her lifeless body was discovered at her family residence in Woking, Surrey on August 10, 2023.

The police authorities discovered her body a day after her father, Irfan Sharif, escaped to Pakistan along with his partner Benish Batool, and brother Faisal Malik.

The British daily The Independent also reported that the three individuals booked one-way flights out of the country before her body was discovered.

The 10-year-old’s mother, Olga Sharif, said she married Urfan, 41, in November 2009, but the marriage ended in 2017. Her ex-husband was awarded full custody of both Sara and her 13-year-old brother in 2019. Since then, Ms Sharif claims she has only been allowed to see her children twice.