Surrey Police have released interview footage with the family members responsible for the horrific death of Sara Sharif.
In the videos, Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and paternal uncle Faisal Malik, 29, are interrogated in police custody about the abuse and death of the 10-year-old girl.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, on Wednesday (December 11) Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, and Batool were found guilty of her murder, while Malik was convicted of causing or allowing her death.
The police footage shows both Batool and Malik replying “no comment” to most of the questions asked by officers.
Batool appears calm and impassive as she’s interviewed by officers. In one chilling moment, when asked, “Do you love Sara?” she replies, “No comment.”“Do you care about her at all?” the officer continues.“No comment,” Batool replies.
In another, Batool is told, “You want to come back to the UK and clear your name in the UK courts. So here we are—this is the start of the process. Why, then, would you not speak to us now?” Batool again answers: “No comment.”
The police’s questions for Faisal Malik's were directed through a translator, who translated from English to Urdu.
In his interview, Malik is told by police officers: “In my view, this little girl was tortured and you were either actively involved in torturing her or you were just sat there going ‘it’s not my problem, I can’t do anything’ and involved in that way.”
Mailk replies: “No comment.”
The trial at the Old Bailey found that Sara had been subjected to a litany of brutal punishments by her family.
She was hooded, burnt with an iron, scolded with boiling water and bound up with packing tape during more than two years of abuse.
After her murder on August 8 2023, the defendants fled to Pakistan, but eventually returned to the UK to face arrest.
Urfan Sharif had called police from Pakistan saying he had beaten Sara “too much” as a punishment for her naughty behaviour.
The taxi driver left a note by his daughter's body reading: "I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”
After attending the scene, officers discovered a cricket bat covered in Sarah’s blood, a rope with her hair attached to it, and a rolling pin with her DNA.
All three offenders are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, December 17.