‘Didn’t want to hurt her’: After blaming stepmom, British-Pakistani father admits to beating daughter to death
The 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl‘s father accepted on Wednesday that he caused her death, whilst insisting he had not intended to harm her, even as he continued beating her when she lay dying.
The girl was found lifeless in her bed in Woking, southwest of London, on August 10, 2023, bearing numerous injuries including fractured bones, burns and bite marks.
Urfan Sharif, 42, travelled to Pakistan one day before the discovery of her body, accompanied by his spouse Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
Whilst testifying at the Old Bailey court in central London, Urfan Sharif had initially attributed blame to Batool, minor’s stepmother, claiming she had coerced him into admitting the killing.
However, when questioned by his wife’s solicitor on Wednesday, the taxi driver accepted “full responsibility” for the events, whilst maintaining he had not intended to cause her harm.
When asked if he had killed the girl through beating, he confirmed, “Yes, she died because of me.” He acknowledged causing multiple fractures in the weeks preceding her daughter’s death, striking her with a cricket bat whilst she was restrained with packaging tape, strangling her with his hands and breaking her neck’s hyoid bone.
“I can take full responsibility. I accept every single thing,” he said, also admitting to severely beating her on August 8 when she had collapsed and was dying.
Nevertheless, he maintained his innocence regarding the murder charge, saying, “I did not want to hurt her. I didn’t want to harm her.”
The girl’s body was found in her bed on August 10. Her father contacted British police from Islamabad, admitting he had beaten his daughter “too much”.
A written confession was discovered beside her. The post-mortem revealed multiple injuries, including at least 25 fractured bones.
She also exhibited burns and human bite marks, though Urfan Sharif denied inflicting these.
The defendants were taken into custody on September 13 upon their return to the UK.
