'KILLED BY THE VERY ADULTS WHO SHOULD HAVE LOVED AND PROTECTED HER'

THE "pure evil" dad and stepmum of 10-year-old Sara Sharif have been found guilty of her murder.

- Paul Jeeves

Social workers, teachers and police are accused of failing to save her from a lifetime of monstrous cruelty. Serial abuser Urfan Sharif, 42, and wife Beinash Batool, 30, were convicted of killing Sara after a harrowing eightweek trial at the Old Bailey and will be sentenced to life in prison next Tuesday.

Judith Reed, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said it was the "ultimate tragedy Sara was killed by the very adults who should have loved and protected her".

Sharif showed no emotion as the verdicts were given, while Batool, who had refused to give evidence during the trial, sobbed.

Sharif's brother Faisal Malik, 29, slumped and put his head in his hands as he was convicted of allowing the death of a child but cleared of murder.

Last night a serious case review was launched as it emerged that police, social workers and the education authority missed 15 opportunities to intervene and save Sara's life.

Her father was exposed as a "serial abuser of vulnerable women", who had arranged a "sham marriage" to a vulnerable Polish woman to remain in Britain when his student visa expired.

The court was told that Olga Domin gave birth to Sara in 2013 with social workers already involved with the family.

Despite his daughter being taken into care, Sharif, described as a whisky-swigging gambling addict, managed to secure custody in 2019.

He subsequently forced her to wear a Muslim hijab to hide the sickening catalogue of injuries he inflicted on her at their home.

Beaten

When teachers raised concerns about bruising in March 2023 he withdrew her to be "homeschooled" and a social services case was dropped within days.

Sara was found dead in her bed in Woking, Surrey, four months later on September 10.

Specialist doctors and pathologists who examined Sara's body found evidence of around 100 separate internal and external injuries.