The body of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, whose death led to an international manhunt, was discovered with burn marks believed to have been inflicted by an iron, according to a prosecutor in a London court on Monday.
Sara, a British-Pakistani girl, was found dead in bed at her home in Woking, southern England, on August 10, 2023. The prosecutor revealed that Sara’s stepmother, Batool, has declined to provide a dental impression for comparison with bite marks found on the body. Additional injuries included damage to her ribs, shoulder blades, fingers, and 11 separate fractures to her spine.
The jury listened to a recording of a calm phone call from the evening of August 8, 2023, in which Batool inquired about booking flights to Islamabad.
Sara’s body was located in the family’s empty house after an emergency call was made by a man claiming to be her father, alerting authorities.
A note found next to her body appeared to confess to her murder. “Love you Sara,” it read. The note continued on a second page: “Whoever sees this note, it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I am running away because I am scared, but I promise that I will hand myself in and face the consequences.”
A third page stated, “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her, but I lost it.”
A handwriting expert confirmed that the note was written by Urfan Sharif. The three defendants arrested in September after arriving on a flight from Dubai have all pleaded not guilty to murder and to causing or allowing the death of a child.