In the ongoing trial surrounding the death of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl, prosecutors detailed horrific abuse allegedly inflicted by her father, Urfan Sharif. The court heard that Sharif forced his daughter to do sit-ups through the night as punishment for hiding his keys. According to The Guardian, he also made her hold her hands up after severely beating her, leaving her stepmother, Beinash Batool, afraid he might break the child’s arms and legs.
The disturbing allegations emerged as prosecutors presented a series of WhatsApp messages between Batool and her sister, Qandeela Saboohi, from 2019 to 2023, which reportedly chronicled the abuse. In the messages, Batool described Sharif as a “psycho” who “beat the crap out of Sara.” She also stated that Sharif insisted on concealing the child’s bruises with makeup and sunglasses after her teachers expressed concern about her schooling.
Sharif, 42, along with Batool, 30, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 29, are accused of orchestrating a violent “campaign of abuse” before Sara was found dead in their Surrey home in August 2023. The prosecution claims the trio killed Sara on August 8, then fled to Pakistan, where Sharif later contacted authorities, admitting, “I beat her up too much.” Near her body, a handwritten note from Sharif read, “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”
Jurors were shown images of the home where Sara died and informed that Batool’s messages documented multiple incidents of abuse. One message from Batool to Saboohi warned that Sharif would “regret” it if Sara exposed how he “hits her like crazy and all the bruises,” while Batool added, “I literally have to push Urfan out the way and save Sara.” She even shared photos of Sara’s bruises, saying, “This is how bad he is beating her … I feel really sorry for her, he beats the crap out of her.”
In January 2021, Batool texted Saboohi describing a particularly violent episode where Sharif “beat Sara up like crazy.” In another incident from May 2021, she shared, “Urfan is going crazy beating Sara up … he’s literally going to break her arm or leg.” The following day, Batool expressed a desire to report the abuse, writing, “She’s covered in bruises, literally … black,” and adding that Sharif had forced Sara to do sit-ups all night.
In a message from February 2022, Batool told her other sister, Amima Shahid, that she was struggling with guilt over Sara’s safety, saying, “(If) something happens to Sara I will not be able to forgive myself.” Later, she described Sara’s injuries as so extensive that she could barely conceal them, while Sharif instructed her to use makeup and sunglasses to hide the bruises.
The abuse appeared to escalate, as shown by messages from 2023 in which Batool noted Sara’s deteriorating health and behavioral changes, including instances where her oxygen levels dropped dangerously. The day before Sara’s death, Saboohi tried reaching Batool, who responded that she was “not in the mood to speak.”
Sharif, Batool, and Malik have all denied charges of murder and causing or permitting a child’s death. While the prosecution presented Batool’s messages as evidence of a long pattern of abuse, they noted that the accuracy of the messages may be disputed, as they reflect only what Batool chose to share.
The trial remains ongoing.