Girlās stepmother was āpossessedā, court told
Surrey Police
Sara Sharifās body was found at her home in Woking on 10 August last year
A stepmother accused of killing 10-year-old Sara Sharif was āpossessedā like āsomeone has done black magic on herā, a court has been told.
Saraās body was found with dozens of injuries at the familyās home in Woking, Surrey, last year, the Old Bailey was told.
Her father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, have denied murder.
Giving evidence, Mr Sharif told jurors that Ms Batool was abusive towards him and that her family told him that she had a āproblemā.
āSheās very, very crazy when she goes into that mindset. She doesnāt stop,ā he told the court.
āHer family would come and say, ādo not leave herā. Her family said, āshe is possessed [like] someone has done black magic on herā,ā he told jurors.
He also denied ever beating Sara, adding that there was not a single incident with him and the children when he was at home.
āEverything happened at home while I was at work,ā he told the court.
Jurors were told Mr Sharifās case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Saraās death, and he made a false confession on the phone call and also in a note to protect his wife.
Warning: This article features distressing details
Two videos filmed by Mr Sharif on his mobile phone were played to jurors on Wednesday.
Mr Sharif said Ms Batool had accused him of flirting with a hospital nurse, before she āabusedā him at their home and ādid not let me get out of the houseā in February 2016.
āShe was twisting my hands. Before that she kicked me,ā he told the court.
In the video played to jurors, Mr Sharif can be heard saying to his wife, āyouāre pushing meā and that he was going to use the recording as āevidence against herā.
In the second recording, filmed in June 2019, Mr Sharif can be heard repeatedly telling Ms Batool to ālet me goā and āleave me aloneā.
Mr Sharif is then seen climbing out of the kitchen window.
He told the court Ms Batool had āslappedā him, adding that āshe locked the front doorā and āshe gets really angryā.
Surrey Police
Urfan Sharif (left), Beinash Batool (centre) and Faisal Malik (right) are each facing charges relating to the death of Sara Sharif
Mr Sharif also told jurors that it was Ms Batoolās decision for Sara to be home schooled.
He said Sara informed him she was being bullied, but he did not agree with Ms Batoolās decision to home school their daughter at first.
Naeem Mian KC, for Mr Sharif, previously told the court that Ms Batool was āthe true villainā.
He told the jurors that Mr Sharif arrived home to find Sara ālimpā on 8 August 2023, before attempting CPR and begging for an ambulance to be called.
āHe was told in Urdu or Punjabi, āleave it, sheās deadā,ā by Ms Batool, Mr Mian KC added.
Saraās father, Urfan Sharif, told jurors he had never bitten, burnt or beaten his daughter
The court previously heard that Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during more than two years of abuse.
A post-mortem examination found Sara had suffered dozens of injuries including āprobable human bite marksā, an iron burn and scalding from hot water before she died on 8 August 2023.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC previously said a bloodstained cricket bat, a rolling pin with Saraās DNA on it, a metal pole, a belt and rope were found near the familyās outhouse.
The court also previously heard Mr Sharif, Ms Batool and Mr Malik travelled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with other family members on 9 August 2023, the day before Saraās body was found.
Prosecutors said Mr Sharif called police from Pakistan and admitted he killed Sara about an hour after his familyās flight had landed in Islamabad.
The three defendants, who lived with Sara in Woking before her death, are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, which they deny.
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