Girl, 10, wore hijab to hide injuries, court told

A 10-year-old girl who allegedly died at the hands of her father, stepmother and uncle wore a hijab to hide facial injuries she received in the lead up to her death, a court has heard.

Sara Sharif began wearing the religious headscarf in January 2023 – seven months before her body was found at her family’s house in Woking, Surrey, jurors were told.

A neighbour found it “unusual” that Sara was the only member of her large extended family that lived at the address to be dressed in a hijab, the Old Bailey heard.

Her father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, have denied murder.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC said the hijab was “indicative of the need to conceal injuries to her face and head from the outside world”.

Sara’s primary school noticed a bruise under her left eye in June 2022, a bruise on her chin and a dark mark on her right eye in March 2023, the court heard.

She gave multiple conflicting tales of how she got the injuries and used her hijab to conceal her face when questioned by teachers, Mr Emlyn Jones KC said.

Sara was withdrawn to be home schooled in April 2023.

Mr Emlyn Jones KC also gave accounts from neighbours, including one woman who heard two days before Sara’s death “a single high pitched scream, which lasted a couple of seconds and stopped suddenly”.

A woman who lived near the family’s previous address in West Byfleet said she heard “shockingly loud” sounds of smacking and “gut wrenching screams” of young female children.

Another previous neighbour said they heard banging and rattling sounds, often accompanied by the sounds of a child crying or screaming, the court heard.

She said it was as if someone was banging on a door and trying to open the door, or to alert someone that they were behind a door, Mr Emlyn Jones KC added.

The woman did consider reporting what she heard to social services but ultimately decided against it.

A bloodstained cricket bat, a rolling pin with Sara’s DNA on it, a metal pole, a belt and rope were found near the family’s outhouse, Mr Emlyn Jones KC said.

“You can now look again at the bruises and broken bones Sara had suffered with a clearer understanding of how at least some of those injuries appear to have been inflicted,” he told the jury.

Plastic bags bound with parcel tape were also found in wheelie bins at the family’s property, after Ms Batool ordered 18 rolls of parcel tape in two separate online orders, prosecutors said.

“It is obvious what these are. They are homemade hoods. They had been placed over Sara’s head and taped in place,” Mr Emlyn Jones KC said.

“If this was being done by one of the adults in the house, why aren’t the others releasing her? Why aren’t the others helping her, preventing this terrible treatment?” he added.

The court previously heard Mr Sharif, Ms Batool and Mr Malik travelled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara’s five brothers and sisters on 9 August 2023, the day before her body was found.

Prosecutors said Mr Sharif called police from Pakistan and admitted he killed Sara about an hour after his family’s flight had landed in Islamabad.

Jurors were told Mr Sharif’s case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Sara’s death, and he made a false confession on the phone call and also in a note to protect his wife.

Sara had suffered 11 fractures to her spine, burns to her buttocks, caused by a domestic iron, six “probable human bite marks” and signs of a traumatic brain injury, the court also heard.

The three defendants, who lived with Sara before her death, are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, which they deny.