Sara Sharif: New photos released as police appeal for information

The 10 year old's body was found at her family home in Woking on August 10

Author: Grace McGachyPublished 22nd Sep 2023
Last updated 22nd Sep 2023

New photos have been released of Sara Sharif as Surrey Police continue to appeal for information.

The body of the 10 year old was found on August 10 at her family home on Hammond Road in Woking.

Three members of Sara's family have been charged with murder; her father Urfan Sharif, her stepmother Beinash Batool and her uncle Faisal Malik and they have been remanded in custody until their plea hearing in December.

The trio appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday (19 September) following their return from Pakistan last week.

The court heard that Surrey Police had found Sara's body after receiving a call from Pakistan, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, at 2.47am on August 10.

The defendants' flight to Pakistan had been booked two days earlier, on August 8, the court was told.

Officers arrived at the family home in Woking and found the young girl lying face up and fully clothed under a blanket in a bunk bed in an upstairs room.

She was identified using the DNA of her mother, Olga Sharif, who lives in Somerset, and another relative.

Prosecutor Giles Bedoe told the court that Sara was found to have "a constellation of healed and healing injuries".

They allegedly included a healed fracture to her collar bone, a healed fracture to the hyoid bone in her neck, multiple rib fractures, bruising to her torso and limbs, and a brain haemorrhage.

Mr Bedoe alleged: "It follows Sara had been subjected to multiple events of violence over a sustained period of time that must have culminated in her death."

He added: "There is quite a significant amount of post-mortem work ongoing and that will continue."

The day before Sara was found, the three defendants allegedly left the UK for Pakistan with five children

Now Surrey Police have released two new photos of Sara as they continue to try and build a picture of her life prior to her death.

Detectives say the photos present Sara in the way they believe she may have dressed in the months prior to her death.

They are hoping this will prompt people to come forward with more information

Surrey Police say since Sara's death they have been engaging with community leaders and distributing leaflets in the Woking community.

Posters have also been displayed in and around Woking train station and taxi ranks around the town.

The appeal has been translated into written Urdu and verbally in video format to reach residents of the local area whose first language is Urdu.

Officers are still keen to hear from anyone with information no matter how insignificant it may seem.

Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, said:

“We have released these new images this week in the hope that it will prompt more people who knew Sara and her family to come forward.

“We are grateful to everyone who has already contacted us, and I would like to stress that any information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, is reviewed by the investigation team and further enquiries carried out if appropriate. I would urge anyone who may have information and hasn’t yet come forward to reach out to us.

“There are a number of ways you can do this - you can report information via our portal, which is in both English and Urdu, you can call 101 if you would prefer to speak on the phone, or if you would like to remain anonymous, call the independent charity Crimestoppers.”

Report information to Surrey Police via their online portal.

To report information anonymously, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Hear the latest news on Downtown on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.