Sara Sharif was 10 years old when she tragically died after years of torture at the hands of those who should have cared for her most, but behind the torment was a brilliantly bubbly school girl with big dreams.
Heartbreakingly, the light she brought into the world was extinguished in the most brutal of ways. But the young schoolgirl will always be remembered as more than just a murder victim, as she was a bright, talented and ‘sassy’ girl with heaps of ambitions for the future.
Today, her father, Urfan Sharif, 42, step-mother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, have been sentenced at the Old Bailey, with Sharif and Batool jailed for life. Sharif will serve a minimum of 40 years behind bars and Batool a minimum of 33 years, while Malik – who lived with them – will serve at least 16 years.
Handing down sentencing today, Mr Justice Cavanagh said Sara was treated “as if she was worthless” and that neither her father nor step-mother had “any concern for her happiness”. It comes days after Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, paid tribute to her ‘beautiful’ daughter who had an ‘angelic voice’ and ‘unique character’.
The distraught mother said: “My dear Sara, I ask God to please take care of my little girl, she was taken too soon. Sara had beautiful brown eyes and an angelic voice. Sara’s smile could brighten up the darkest room. Everyone who knew Sara will know her unique character, her beautiful smile and loud laugh. She will always be in our hearts, her laughter will bring warmth to our lives. We miss Sara very much. Love you Princess.”
And speaking The Sun today as her daughter’s killers were jailed for life, Olga added: “If anything has come from Sara’s death is he is off the street and it will be a safer place for women without him. If I could push that syringe for a lethal injection I would do it with a smile on my face. It took the death of my baby girl for people to realise he is evil.”
The harrowing abuse that Sara endured shocked the nation as her lengthy trial unravelled in court. It became clear that Sara’s once bubbly, confident personality was tragically stamped out by the violence she suffered. According to her school friends, teachers and family members, little Sara was a natural performer with big dreams of being a performer, before her life was cruelly cut short. Here, the Mirror shares how she will be remembered by those who knew her best…
Angelic girl
Sara’s bereaved mother, Olga, previously described her daughter’s killers as sadists and cowards, writing in a victim impact statement: “Sara was always smiling. She had her own unique character. The only thing I had left to give to my daughter was to give her a beautiful Catholic funeral that she deserves. She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven, she is no longer experiencing violence. To this day, I can’t understand how someone can be such a sadist to a child.”
Writer of fairytales
Like many little girls, Sara appeared to have been fond of fairytales and even wrote her own story about a queen named “Beinash,” whom she described as the “best caring and loving mother in the world,” and a princess, also called Sara. The short story was found inside a red notebook owned by Sara, which was recovered after her death.
Elsewhere in her book, Sara praised her family, writing: “Ammi my mum who is beautiful and young. Dad, my father, who earns money for us so we can eat, sleep and have shelter.” She also penned a letter to her twisted parents, begging their forgiveness for “being rude” and “answering back”. She pleaded: “Please forgive me I am so, so sorry.”
In another message, addressed to her dad on his birthday, Sara wrote: “I love you so much. Thank you for looking after us on the weekends. And making food for us at the weekends. THANK YOU DAD. From Sara… Our family is the best in town. We spread love all around the world.”
A beautiful smile
Sara was a Year 5 pupil at St Mary’s C of E primary school in Byfleet, where headteacher Jacquie Chambers has shared she is ‘dearly missed’ by pupils and teachers alike. In a tribute paid last year to Sara, as reported by the BBC, Ms Chambers said: “She was a bubbly, confident little girl who had the most beautiful smile. She was full of ideas and was very passionate about the things she believed in.”
She added: “Sara will be dearly missed and, as a school community, we are all deeply affected by this tragedy. Our thoughts, prayers and sympathy are with those affected by this heartbreaking news.” The school has made sure to remember Sara, with a polka-dot-painted bench now situated in her old playground. The poignant plaque reads, “Sara’s buddy bench.”
Concerns among staff grew when Sara was taken out of school to be homeschooled in June 2022. She returned to the classroom in September wearing a hijab. Despite her covering, those at the school started to notice bruising by March of the following year and made a referral to social services. In April, Sara was taken out of school once more, this time never to return.
Bubbly and bright
Sara’s disgraced father, Sharif, described his daughter as “bubbly” while weeping from the witness box, mere days before he admitted responsibility for her death. The Wimbledon Times reports that Sharif sobbed as he recalled: “She was beautiful, an angel, lovely, bubbly… her favourite food was chicken biryani and she hated eating bread. Her hobby was playing guitar and singing, her wish for what she wanted to be when she grew up was a ballet dancer. Her favourite adult was her grandad, my father. Her favourite colour was pink.”
X Factor dreams
Sara had been fond of music and playing the guitar and had harboured big dreams about one day performing on The X Factor. In a recent interview with BBC News, Sara’s headteacher, Ms Chambers, remembered Sara as an “absolute chatterbox” and “such a special little girl”, recalling: “We’ll always remember her as that really confident, very smiley, full of energy and life little girl. She was a really vibrant, big character. And she would talk the ear off anyone who would listen.”
Class teacher Helen Simmons remembered that although Sara “didn’t keep friends very easily”, she “loved to be on the stage and singing and performing – that was her happy space”.
