How one trial laid bare the brutally short life of schoolgirl Sara Sharif

"She was beautiful, an angel, lovely, bubbly, a weeping Urfan Sharif told the Old Bailey as he recounted his daughter Sara Sharif's love of eating chicken biryani and playing guitar. Yet just days later, he would take full responsibility for her traumatic death, admitting to a campaign of abuse that had seen the 10-year-old suffer more than 25 fractures, bite marks, a traumatic brain injury and a burn caused by a hot iron."

"Over the course of his trial, horrifying details emerged of the brutality inflicted upon the happy and sassy schoolgirl, whose father told police officers that he had legally punished her after she was naughty. Phoning their non-emergency 101 line after fleeing to Pakistan on 10 August last year, Sharif told Surrey Police that he was a cruel father who hadn't intended to kill his daughter but had lost his temper."

"Trapped in the family home in Woking, she was the victim of repeated beatings and scaldings, forced to leave school and carry out laundry chores for her stepmother while wearing a hijab to obscure her growing number of bruises and wounds. Despite the concerns of neighbours who overheard screaming and crying, and the questions raised by her primary school teachers as to the reason behind her injuries, social services were unaware of the full scale of the brutality the young girl was facing."

Sara Sharif, born 2013, suffered sustained and escalating abuse in her family home in Woking, including more than 25 fractures, bite marks, a traumatic brain injury and a hot-iron burn. Neighbours heard screams; teachers questioned her injuries; social services remained unaware of the full extent. She was forced out of school, made to do laundry and wear a hijab to hide bruises. Her father, Urfan Sharif, admitted responsibility after fleeing to Pakistan, saying he had lost his temper and had 'legally punished' her. Both parents and an uncle were convicted; sentences were minimum terms of 40, 31 and 16 years respectively.

Read at www.independent.co.uk