The tragic death of schoolgirl Sara Sharif, whose lifeless body was discovered at her home in Woking, Surrey, has sent shockwaves throughout the local community and the wider public.

Police responded to a distress call at Hammond Rd in the village of Horsall in the early hours of August 10, where the 10-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival in an empty house.

The call was believed to have been placed by her father, Urfan Sharif, 41, who fled to Pakistan with his partner Beinash Batool, 29, his brother Faisal Malik, 28, and five children following the incident, sparking an international manhunt for the trio which is still underway.

Although the circumstances surrounding Sara’s tragic death are still unknown, police investigations have revealed that the youngster suffered ‘multiple injuries’ that were inflicted over an ‘extended’ period before her passing.

With the suspects still at large and the young girl’s remaining family demanding answers, here’s everything we know about Sara’s death so far:

Background

Born to a Polish mother and a Pakistani father, Sara Sharif was described as a popular and much-loved girl whose death stunned the local community. 

Sara attended a local primary school in Byfleet and was well-loved by everyone in her class. The ‘cheeky’ youngster loved the Frozen films and reportedly wanted to be a model when she grew up.

Her mother Olga Sharif, who married Urfan in 2009 until their divorce in 2017, told the Sun: ‘Sara was an amazing child… she was invited to every birthday party in the class and every sleepover, she was so outgoing, much more social than me.’

‘She was so pretty that I never had to ask her to pose for a picture because every time she looked at the camera she was already smiling and beautiful.

”She would tell me that “I want to be like Mummy”.’

But following their divorce, Urfan was granted custody of Sara, whose behaviour reportedly began to change as her father began to exert more influence over her life.

Aside from occasional phone conversations, Olga, who now lives in Somerset, said she was only allowed to see her children twice in four years.

Eventually, she was cut off from her children altogether in 2021 following an argument with Urfan’s new partner, Beinash.

Urfan and Beinash later moved to their home in Hammond Rd, Horsell in April 2023, where Sara’s body would be found just a few short months later. Locals say the family mostly kept to themselves and were not sociable.

Surrey Police later revealed that the family had been ‘known’ to them prior to the incident, but declined to comment further.

However, Olga’s brother later told MailOnline that Urfan had displayed a history of violence and abuse towards his sister during their time together.

He told the publication: ‘There was an incident when Urfan locked Olga and the kids in a room with no food or water for many hours. Olga called us asking for help but Urfan heard the conversation, took the phone away and beat Olga. Living in Germany we called the UK police to Urfan and Olga’s home.’

‘At some point he threatened her saying if she keeps getting on his nerves about the children some day she will be found dead somewhere.’

Sara’s Death

Although the exact circumstances surrounding Sara’s death are still unclear, she is believed to have died sometime in the evening on August 8.

Her body was found at her home on Hammond Road after officers received a call from Pakistan by her father at 2.50am on August 10.

It is believed that Urfan fled the country with Beinash, and his brother Faisal Malik following the incident, taking their five children with them.

The BBC later reported that a travel agent in Woking was contacted by someone known to Sara at around 10pm on August 8, wanting tickets to Islamabad in Pakistan for three adults and five children.

A post-mortem examination failed to reveal a cause of death, but said Sara had suffered ‘multiple and extensive’ injuries which are likely to have been caused over a ‘sustained and extended’ period of time.

A neighbour of the family later told the BBC that her own daughter had seen Sara with ‘clearly visible injuries’ in April, the broadcaster said.

‘Just before the Easter holidays she was in school and had cuts and bruises on her face and her neck,’ the neighbour, wishing to be referred to as Jessica, said.

‘My daughter had asked what had happened and she said she’d fallen off a bike and then kind of walked away.

‘The next day the teacher announced she had left school and she was being home-schooled.’

Sara was, according to Jessica’s daughter, never seen at school again.

A relative of Sara’s later told Pakistani police that she had died after ‘falling down the stairs and breaking her neck’.

He allegedly told officers: ‘Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.’

Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police major crime team, said in a statement: ‘While the post-mortem has not provided us with an established cause of death at this time, the fact that we now know that Sara had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained and extended period has significantly changed the nature of our investigation, and we have widened the timescale of the focus of our enquiry.

Mr Chapman has asked the public to help piece together a picture of Sara’s lifestyle, appealing to anyone who knew Sara to come forward with any information.

‘In the meantime, I would like to reassure you that we are doing everything possible, including working with our partners and international agencies, to ensure that those responsible for Sara’s tragic and untimely death are brought to justice.’

Police are expected to remain at the semi-detached property in the quiet Woking village of Horsell for ‘some weeks’.

International Manhunt

Following news that Urfan had fled to Pakistan, Surrey Police announced an international manhunt for the trio was underway and that they were working closely with Interpol, the National Crime Agency and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to liaise with Pakistani authorities.

Although there is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan, Islamabad authorities say they are under ‘tremendous pressure’ from the British High Commission to find the missing family members and have launched an extensive search.

Search teams have been launched in the city of Jhelum, in the Punjab region in North-West Pakistan where Urfan’s family resides.

Beinash Batool’s family home in Mirpur has also been searched, but with no sign of the family.

On August 23, Pakistan police arrested Sara’s uncle, Imran Sharif, over suspicions he knew where his relatives were hiding.

Imran had previously told MailOnline that Mr Sharif visited his family home after arriving in Pakistan on August 9, but came alone and had not been seen since.

He said: ‘After reaching Pakistan he came to us and instantly disappeared. He did not bring his family to our home. Some people say he is hiding somewhere in Jhelum in a rented house, but others said he may have gone to Mirpur where his in-laws are living.’

He added: ‘Police have raided our home twice during the last week and took pictures of Urfan and other family members. We have been warned to inform the police immediately soon after receiving his whereabouts.’

Imran is being questioned by police in Jhelum and officers from Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency.

A police source said: ‘We spoke to Imran and some of the family members last week and they insisted that they did not know where Urfan and his family are. 

‘But we don’t believe them, there’s absolutely no way that they can’t know where eight of their relatives who have come from England are. They are telling us a pack of lies.’

They added: ‘We managed to get hold of Imran, but the rest of his family have gone missing. They clearly have something to hide. We have got hold of one of them and will be interrogating him until he tells us the truth.’ 

The source added: ‘We have the mobile phone numbers for Sharif and the other people with him who came from the UK. We are doing our utmost to trace them electronically but it’s not proving to be very easy.’

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