Most killers are already known to police before they strike – just as Sara Sharif’s father Urfan was before he murdered the 10-year-old at their family home – new research shows
Murdered 10-year-old Sara Sharif was one of five victims of domestic abuse who die every week on average, new figures reveal.
Most of their killers were already known to police, just as Sara’s father Urfan was before he murdered her at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023, the research shows. The report, led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, reveals there were 1,012 abuse-related deaths in the last four years, an average of almost five a week.
There were 262 such homicides in England and Wales in the year to March 2024. Of these, 80 victims were killed by their partners, 31 by an adult family member. Sara was one of 11 children who died.
Around a third of domestic-abuse related deaths are victims killed by partners in each of the last four years, when the research began. Almost seven out of 10 domestic abuse murderers were on the police’s radar before they killed, the Home Office-funded research found.
During the same period, 98 victims of domestic abuse are thought to have taken their own life, compared with 93 the previous year and 51 in 2021.
The issue was highlighted by the case of Kiena Dawes, 23, who killed herself in July 2022, blaming her partner from “beyond the grave” for her death. Ryan Wellings, 30, was found not guilty of her manslaughter in January but was jailed for six-and-a-half years for assault and coercive and controlling behaviour.
It is the second year in a row that the number of suicides was higher than homicides involving current or former partners. The report found this was due to the improved recording of offences by police.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, national policing lead for domestic abuse, described the findings as “horrific”. She said: “For me the scale of this is shocking and it’s so deeply ingrained it won’t be fixed by policing alone. The scale and impact is incomprehensible and as a society, we cannot delay action to prevent future deaths.”
Julie Devey, Chair of Killed Women, said: ‘’Every life lost following domestic abuse leaves behind a family heartbroken. For too long, these deaths have been treated as ‘unavoidable tragedies’ – but they are not. They are preventable.
“Today’s important report reflects that too often perpetrators or victims are known to agencies, but they fail to act. We must ensure a system that joins the dots and intervenes before it’s too late.” Ms Devey welcomed the report findings that women are dying in suspicious circumstances – for example from falls – or from suicide, where there is a history of domestic abuse, without adequate investigation.
The report recommends that police should be compelled in all cases of unexpected deaths, to investigate the history of domestic abuse.
Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women & Girls, Jess Phillips said: “This report rightly demands coordinated action across government, police and partner agencies to tackle these issues head on – and we are already cracking on with work to put the voices of victims, their families and friends, and key stakeholders front and centre of this.”
Among the women killed during the latest year was Samantha Varley who was brutally murdered by her sadistic partner after chillingly predicting her own death. Warren Spence, 54, attacked Samantha, 44, with a hammer, stamping on her chest and biting her “like an animal” at her home in Leeds, West Yorks, in February 2024.
Spence, who was convicted of murder after a trial, was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 24 years in custody.
Urfan Sharif, 43, was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison for murder, while her stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, received a minimum of 33 years. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment for causing or allowing her death.
Sharif was previously arrested for domestic violence and threats to kill former partners, the Old Bailey heard. Other child victims during the period were five-month-old Evelyn MacFarlane, who was smothered by her mother while out walking in a park in Leeds.
Her mum Hayley, 39, admitted herself voluntarily to a mental health unit. Ethan John, 11, and his sister Elizabeth, seven, were stabbed to death by their mother Veronique John, 50, of Stoke-on-Trent. She was subject to a trial of facts after she was deemed unfit to plead at Nottingham crown court.
Scott Jeff, 24, will serve a minimum term as part of a life sentence for the murder of Isabella Jonas-Wheildon, two, who was found with “traumatic injuries” in Ipswich on 30 June 2023.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk
