Murder Case: Father Confesses to Punishing Daughter Leading to Her Death

Father Confesses to Punishing Daughter Leading to Her Death

• A father accused of murdering his daughter in a “campaign of abuse” told police that he “legally punished her and she died”, a court heard.
• The court heard that the schoolgirl appeared to have been restrained by being tied to a heating pipe and burned with an iron.
• The court heard that in the early hours of Aug 10 last year, an eight-and-a-half-minute long phone call was made by Mr Sharif to police in the UK.

Constellation of Injuries

• The court heard that a post-mortem found evidence of “an awful constellation of injuries” including, puncture wounds, abrasions and extensive bruising “all over her body”.
• The injuries were consistent with “significant and repetitive blunt force trauma” and the use of an “instrument or instruments”.
• There was also evidence of a significant head injury inflicted more than 48 hours before her death.

Tied Up and Restrained

• The court heard that following the Easter school holidays in 2023, Mr Sharif had informed Sara’s school by email that she was going to be homeschooled.
• On the note left beside his daughter’s body, Sharif also wrote “my daughter is Muslim”, “can you bury her like [a] Muslim may be”.
• The court heard that the “clearest evidence” of Sara’s exact time of death came from text messages, sent by one of her five siblings.