Sara Sharif forced to wear plastic-bag hood, jury told

Schoolgirl Sara Sharif was forced to wear “homemade hoods” of plastic bags and parcel tape as she endured a campaign of abuse that lasted up to two years, a court heard.

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN

The 10-year-old’s blood was found on a cricket bat and a vacuum cleaner at the family home, jurors at the Old Bailey were told.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC also alleged that bruises found on her body matched a belt buckle and plastic-coated metal pole found in an outhouse at the property – where police also found a rolling pin with traces of her DNA.

Neighbour Chloe Redwin, who lived in the flat above the family at their previous address in 2020, heard sounds of “smacking” from their home. “They were shockingly loud and would be followed by ‘gut-wrenching screams’ of young female children,” Mr Emlyn Jones told the jury. Over the screaming, she would hear the mother shout, ‘shut up’ and sometimes the sounds of further smacking would be heard followed by shouting.”

The same neighbour said she would often hear children screaming, followed by their mother shouting “Shut the fuck up” and “Go to your room you fucking bastard”, the court heard. “Ms Redwin would also frequently hear the mother refer to the children as ‘cunts’,” the prosecutor said.

She said she often said hello to Sara’s father, who worked as a minicab driver, and that she thought he was “conscious of the noise his family made because on occasions he would apologise for it”.

A note with handwriting matching Mr Sharif’s was found by her body. It stated: “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it. I am running away because I am scared.”

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 29, and uncle Faisal Malik, 28, each deny murdering the 10-year-old and causing or allowing her death.