Sara Sharif: Ten-year-old girl’s cause of death not yet established as manhunt for family continues

Sara Sharif’s cause of death is yet to determined but likely to be ‘unnatural’, inquest hears, as police continue hunt for her family in Pakistan

Sara Sharif. Issue date: Friday August 18, 2023. (Surrey Police/PA) (PA Media)

The cause of death of a 10-year-old girl found dead at her home in Woking has not yet been established, an inquest into her death has been told.

Sara Sharif’s body was found at a property in Hammond Road, Woking, after police were called from Pakistan by her father, Urfan Sharif, on August 10.

The precise cause of death is “not yet ascertained” but is likely to be “unnatural”, an inquest opening into her death at Surrey Coroner’s Court heard on Tuesday.

Police launched an international manhunt following the discovery of Sara's body. The three people who are wanted by the police are Sara's father, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28.

The trio, along with their five other children, left the UK for Islamabad with one-way tickets the day before Sara’s body was found alone at the family’s semi-detached home.

Coroner Simon Wickens confirmed Sara was born in Slough, Berkshire, on January 11 2013.

He then adjourned inquest proceedings until February 29 2024 to allow Surrey Police to carry out their investigations.

Mr Wickens offered his “sincere condolences” to all those “touched by Sara’s short life”.

A post-mortem examination previously found that Sara had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries” which were likely to have been caused over a “sustained and extended period of time”.

On Sunday, Sara’s grandfather urged his son to cooperate with the police.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Sharif’s father, Muhammad Sharif, 68, urged his son to come forward.

“We want them to present themselves,” he said. “We want to resolve the matter as the privacy of our house is affected due to frequent police raids.”

Urfan Sharif, left and Beinash Batool, right, are being sought by police

He said his son had briefly visited the family home in the city of Jhelum, Punjab province, earlier this month before he disappeared again, but said he did not tell him about Sara’s death.

Pakistani police are said to be tracking sim cards in a bid to locate the trio.

Nasir Bajwa, the police chief leading the case, said on Saturday: “With God’s will we will make the arrest by tomorrow night.”

The Rawalpindi region police chief, Syed Khurram Ali, added that the force was trying its “level best” and was “close to locating” the trio.

Earlier this week, Sharif’s brother, Imran Sharif, claimed that Sara had died after falling down the stairs in an accident.

He reportedly told police officers: “Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.”

Surrey County Council confirmed that Sara had been known to the authorities and that a “thorough review process” was under way.

Jacquie Chambers, headteacher of St Mary’s C of E primary school in Byfleet – where Sara had been a Year 5 pupil – said she would be “dearly missed” by pupils and teachers.

In their latest appeal for information, Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey and Sussex Police major crime team, said: “It is now two weeks since Sara’s body was found and the impact of her tragic death continues to be felt deeply by the local and wider community, including our officers and staff.

“We would like to thank those people who have already come forward and reported information to us.

“However, we know that there will be lots of people in the Woking community and beyond who will have had contact with Sara who may not already have come forward, and we would encourage them to do so.

“Any information is better than no information – although you might think it’s insignificant, it might be vital to the investigation and in helping us to bring justice for Sara.”