The Misery Machine - Sara Sharif Case Updates

Starting point is 00:00:00 Back in November, we discussed the tragic case of Sara Sharif. If you're not familiar with her story, we'll link the episode in the description in the pin comment for you. We'll give you a short recap before we get into the many updates that have taken place since we released our episode. Sara was a beautiful 10-year-old girl from the town of Woking in the UK. She was born on January 11, 2013 to parents Erfahn Sharif and Olga Doman and was of Polish and Pakistani heritage.

Starting point is 00:00:27 Her parents ultimately divorced and Erfond gained custody of Sarah and her siblings and ended up in a council house in Horsal with Erfons' new wife, Beanish Batul, and his brother, Faisal Malik. On August 9, 23, Erfond phoned emergency services in the UK to let them know that he had killed Sarah because, in his own words, she was naughty. He claimed that it wasn't his intention to kill her he had just beat her up too much. At the time he placed the call, he and his whole family fled to Islamabad Pakistan. His wife, Bainesh Batul, made all of the travel arrangements.

Starting point is 00:01:05 All right. Let's go. When do, ma'amahabat? Yeah. And from Vich airport. And whichever one of the ship is. Okay. You have to travel late, please.

Starting point is 00:01:19 And he'll talk about this tomorrow. And return. Okay. I'm single. Okay. Okay. And how many passengers will be traveling? So we do four adults and four kids.

Starting point is 00:01:40 Yeah, so here, ma'am, you have an option with Oman Air tomorrow night from Heathrow via Muscat to Islamabad. What time? 8.50 at night, tomorrow night. Any care about to be in the morning? Is anything in the morning? No, what? Just a minute. In just a minute.

Starting point is 00:01:59 The following morning, Sara's body was recovered by the Surrey police. She had been placed in her bunk bed and hidden beneath a blanket. In addition to admitting to dispatchers that he was indeed the killer, Erfhan also left a note behind that read. I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her, but I lost it. My daughter is Muslim. Can you bury her like a Muslim maybe? I will be back before you finish the post-mortem.

Starting point is 00:02:25 Whoever sees this note, it's me, Erfon Sharif, who killed my. my daughter by beating. I am running away because I am scared. But I promise that I will hand over myself and take punishment. Love you, Sara. Sarah's autopsy told a different story. Erfond may have said he loved his daughter, but when you read the report, I feel it becomes very difficult for Erfond to say he truly loved his daughter. The 10-year-old girl was covered in more than 70 separate injuries, which included human bite marks, scalds on her feet, bruises, a burn on her butt that was caused by placing a hot iron onto her skin, a broken hyoid bone, a puncture wound of the head, a traumatic brain injury, 11 spinal fractures, and other numerous injuries to her fingers, shoulder blades, and

Starting point is 00:03:09 ribs. She also had injuries that showed evidence that Sara had been restrained and tortured over time. Would later be revealed that Sarah had a hood placed over her head before being beaten with a metal pole and a cricket bat. There were so many injuries that it was actually impossible for examiners to figure out which of them actually caused her death. Sara's own father, Erfond Sharie, fully admitted that he was chiefly the one who tied Sarah up, put a hood over her head, and beat her with a metal pole that was broken off of a

Starting point is 00:03:37 high chair, as well as a cricket bat. Erfond originally admitted to police that he had done this multiple times as a form of discipline book. He later recanted his statement, changing his story to saying it only happened one time. British High Court Justice John Kavanaugh called this fact out during Irfond's sentencing. The remarks were consistent with restraints being used. in other words with Sarah being tied up.

Starting point is 00:04:03 Many of these injuries had tram line markings which showed that she had been beaten with an elongated object. You, Urf and Sharif have admitted to beating Sarah on a number of occasions with a metal pole, part of a high chair. The pole was found at the property after Sarah's death. You also admitted to beating Sarah with a cricket bat which was also found at the property. At one stage you admitted to doing this multiple times, but then you changed your evidence

Starting point is 00:04:34 would only admit to doing so once. I have no doubt that in fact this was a regular occurrence, at least towards the end. You also admitted to hitting her on the head with a mobile phone. Now let us be clear here, as much as Erfond would like us to believe that he only did this once in a fit of rage, the evidence shows this clearly is not the case. And even if it was true, this isn't as simple as wrong. raising your hand against a child in anger. This is somebody tying somebody up in a bag to place over her head so he didn't have to look at

Starting point is 00:05:06 her and beating her multiple times with a metal pole and a cricket bat. For those in the states that don't know what a cricket bat is, we will put one on screen for you to see. This is not something you accidentally do without thinking. This is a calculated and deliberate act, and Erfon Sharif did this multiple times. It would not shock me if this was the act that was the final straw for. Sarah. Again, maybe Erfond in his twisted mind believed that he loved his daughter, but I think we can all agree there was anything but love taking place in this household, especially when you

Starting point is 00:05:40 add Sarah's stepmother, Benish-Betool, and Sarah's uncle Faisal Malik to the mix. Remember the bite marks we mentioned on Sarah's body? There were six in total. Five of these were on her arm, and the six was on the inside of her left thigh. Based on the size of these bite marks, there was no question that an adult was the one who was responsible. So the police were determined to find out who among these three was deranged enough to bite a 10-year-old girl as a form of punishment. So teeth impressions were requested from each of the three perpetrators, as well as from Sara's older brother purely to rule him out. Both Irfan Sharif and Faisal Malik submitted impressions, and both were confirmed to not be the ones responsible for the bite marks on Sarah.

Starting point is 00:06:22 Beanish Batul, however, refused to submit hers. Therefore, without any other suspects, it can be inferred that it was Beanish who, for whatever sick reason, thought biting her stepdaughter was an acceptable way to discipline her. British High Court Justice John Kavanaugh felt this was more than enough evidence to implicate Beanish and made that very clear during her sentencing. The post-mortem investigation showed that Sarah had six fight marks on her body. Five of them were on her left arm and one was on the inside of her left arm. The marks were made by an adult. You, Erf and Sharif and Faisal Malik and Sarah's older brother, each provided teeth impressions and each was excluded from being responsible for the tooth marks.

Starting point is 00:07:10 You Benash Butul declined to give a tooth impression and the only possible inference is that it was you who made these bite marks. Though the bite marks were not in themselves fatal injuries, the fact that you were prepared to be able to make these bite marks. The fact that you were prepared to assault Sarah in this way provides an insight into the extent to which you were complicity and uncomfortable with the abuse that Sarah was suffering. On September 12, 2023, police raided a home in Jailam Punjab, Pakistan, belonging to Erfans' father. There, they were able to locate Erfons' five surviving children who were unharmed, thankfully, and subsequently placed into foster care. In September 13th, all three adults were arrested at London's Gatwainty.

Starting point is 00:07:55 airport after flying back home by way of Seattle caught in Dubai. September 14th, Erfon Sharif, Beanish Batul, and Faisal Malik were arrested in charge with murder, along with an additional charge of causing or allowing the death of a child. Now, when we released our first episode on Sara's case, we included this following clip that led to a lot of discussion in the common section, basically because Beanish kept saying no comment over and over again. We are fully aware that no comment is the equivalent of pleading the fifth here in the United States. What was curious to us, however, is that she couldn't even say that she loves Sarah, her own stepdaughter. Sure, maybe she's just following what her lawyer advised her to do, but I truly have a hard time imagining how saying that you loved and cared about your stepdaughter could be something so incriminating.

Starting point is 00:08:41 Maybe we have some legal experts in the comments who could share their thoughts because I'd certainly love to know. Either way, we'll share that clip with you now just so you can see what we're referring to. Please, could you introduce yourself what you're saying? So my name is Beanish Patole. and you are about to be interviewed for the offence of murder. What's your understanding of murder? What's your understanding of that offence? Killing someone?

Starting point is 00:09:04 Yeah. Okay, so it's intentionally killing somebody. Okay, in very simple terms, okay? That's the offence which you've been arrested for, and that's the offence of which we're going to speak to you about, all right? What happened to Sarah? No comment. What did you see?

Starting point is 00:09:21 No comment. Whose choice was it? How you left Sarah? No comment. You know, Dawn just said, as you said in the video, you want to come back to the UK, clear your name in the UK courts. Well, here we are. This is the start of the process. So why would you not speak to us now?

Starting point is 00:09:42 No comment. Who did that to Sarah? No comment. Do you love Sarah? No comment. Did you care about her at all? No comment. On December 11, 2024, both Irfan Sharif and Beaneesh Batul were found guilty on all counts.

Starting point is 00:09:59 Isle Malik was found not guilty on the charge of murder, but was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child. After the verdict, the police held the following press conference. Good afternoon, everyone. Much closer? Yeah. Good afternoon, everyone. My name's Craig Emerson, Detective Chief Inspector of the Surrey Police. I've been the senior investigating officer for this investigation.

Starting point is 00:10:24 Today, after a 10-week trial, a jury has found O'Fan Sharif, and Beinash for the 3rd. all, the father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sarah Sharif, guilty of her murder. Faisal Malik, Sarah's uncle, was found guilty of causing or allowing her death. Sarah was a bright and lively little girl who loved singing and dancing, and on behalf of Surrey police, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to her mother, Olga, her siblings, and all those who knew and cared for her. Sarah's spirit and bravery and resilience in the face of the suffering that she endured has shone through from the vast inquiries that have been undertaken in this case.

Starting point is 00:11:08 Sarah's young life was brought to an end as a result of the brutal abuse and unspeakable violence inflicted on her by Sharif, Batole, which Malik did nothing to prevent. This case is shocked and horrified not only that those who knew and loved her, but people across the country and around the world. On the 10th of August 2023, we received a phone call from Sarah's father in which he told the operator that his daughter had died as a result of his actions. From this day, Surrey police has worked tirelessly to build a case to prove that Sharif, Boutal and Malik all played their part in Sarah's death. During the trial, Sharif took the stand intending to blame, Sarah's death entirely on his wife before changing his story to accept

Starting point is 00:11:57 some responsibility while still denying murder. Batole and Malik refused to take the stand at all, or provide any explanation what happens Sarah in their police interviews. All three defendants have only ever sought to preserve their own interests throughout this investigation and have shown no remorse for their truly dreadful behaviour. Sarah's death has been one of the most difficult and distressing cases that Surrey police has ever dealt with. I would like to thank those who came forward to provide information and those who gave evidence in such harrowing circumstances. I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration of the evidence which has been presented throughout the trial.

Starting point is 00:12:41 The murder of a child is absolutely shocking, but the horrific nature of the abuse Sarah suffered during her short life has made this case particularly disturbing. Today, justice for Sarah has been served and our thoughts remain with Sarah's mother and her siblings at this extremely difficult time. Thank you very much. What must it have been like that is called? Thank you.

Starting point is 00:13:08 At the heart of this trial was Sarah Sharif, a happy, outgoing and lively 10-year-old girl who was cruelly abused and murdered by the two people closest to her. We have all seen Sarah's smile shine out from the photos of her, but everyone involved with this case will always remember that utterly horrendous injuries and brutal treatment she received in the weeks leading up to her death. We cannot begin to imagine the suffering she went through in her own family home.

Starting point is 00:13:37 Both defendants denied killing Sarah. However, the appalling truth is that they, along with Faisal Malik, were all living in a small house and were all complicit in what was happening to Sarah. The evidence given by some of the neighbours of the family highlighted their concerns about what was going on behind closed doors. Yet none of the defendants did anything to stop or report the abuse that led to Sarah's tragic death. It has been a painstaking operation by Surrey Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to build this case and be able to prove to the jury that Erfn Sharif and Veynash Patul were both responsible for Sarah's murder. By showing they were there in the run-up to Sarah's death, we were able to prove that both of them played their part in killing her. This case was complicated further by the fact that all three defendants fleeed the country to Pakistan,

Starting point is 00:14:35 and our CPS International Unit played a significant role in helping us to prosecute this case successfully. On December 17th, Justice Kavanaugh sentenced Erf-on-Sharif to a minimum term of 40 years in prison. Banish Betula 33 years in prison and Faisal Malik to 16 years. Sarah's mother, Olga Domen, and her grandmother sat down with the guardian to talk about what it was like identifying Sarah's body. They brought in a wiggy, shewoldry, a child's, but no mother not going to look at something. She was a polycha of napuchy, she had notherstown.

Starting point is 00:15:09 To the time, when I'm looking, I see how my child's looking. It's not so much. It's not a lot of changed. If I'm not sure if I'm not sure that is Sarah, I would in life not believe. There's a lot more to share about the history of this case

Starting point is 00:15:28 and Irfan's behavior, but we've done a whole episode on that, which again will link for you down below. Now we're going to get to the updates in the case that have come out since the three adults were sentenced last month. So according to the BBC, The Guardian and many other news outlets,

Starting point is 00:15:43 pretty soon after Erfon and Company were jailed, their fellow inmates decided to exact their own form of prison justices as a revenge. for Sarah. On New Year's Day of 2025 at London's Belmarsh prison, two inmates took it upon themselves to attack Erfan in his cell with a piece of a tuna can. He suffered cuts to his face and received medical treatment at the prison hospital and survived the attack. The killer dad of 10-year-old Sarah Sharif is terrified of returning to his prison cell after he was slashed in the neck and face with a jagged lid of a tin of tuna.

Starting point is 00:16:17 Erfan Sharif, who was ambushed by two inmates, fears others could target him in further attacks. 43-year-old Sharif was assaulted on New Year's Day and then treated in the healthcare unit of Belmarsh Prison in South London. Justice sources of today told the son he may now have to be segregated for his own safety. However, Sharif, who was given a 40-year minimum term for the murder of Sara, cannot be kept away from other inmates indefinitely.

Starting point is 00:16:47 And one source told us, Sharif is terrified and now fears other attacks. He is not yet back on the wing and will be in no rush to return. Now, a big question that came up in the comments was if can goods were actually allowed in prisons because that seemed to be a bit of a security issue. Some folks even believed it to be fake news because they've never heard of such a thing. Since neither of us have ever been to prison and couldn't tell you if can goods are allowed, we decide to reach out to our good friend Google for an answer.

Starting point is 00:17:18 We actually found a couple of different answers, so it looks like this depends on where you're from. One source indicated that, yes, canned goods are typically allowed in U.S. prisons, but there are some restrictions. Can goods must be commercially packaged, airtight, and hermetically sealed. They must also not require any cooking. Other restrictions indicate that canned goods must be 16 ounces or less and cannot be in glass containers. Beverage must be in cans, pouches, or boxes, and are no. larger than 32 ounces. Meats must be pre-cooked, cured, smoked, or cold cut. Seafood must be cooked, cured, or smoked, and without shells. The food items in question can be purchased at

Starting point is 00:18:01 the prison commissary and, for states that allow it, brought in during a visit. Now, according to the gov.uk website, which is most important in this case since it took place in the UK, inmates are indeed allowed tin food items that are to be kept at designated places specific by the prison administration. So for those listening outside of the UK, Belmarsh Prison is classified as a category A jail and is located in southwest London. According to some sources, the prison has been described as Britain's Guantanamo Bay. This is due to the long-term detention of terrorism suspects without charge. It's said to house some of the most dangerous prisoners in the nation, so I don't think it comes as a surprise that some of them might have taken issue with Erfond

Starting point is 00:18:47 and what he was there for. Belmarsh or Hellmarsh, as it's known to inmates, is also the home of Grindr Killer Stephen Port, whom we covered many years ago. We'll be sure to link that case for you as well if you're interested in some of our older episodes. Before we go on making Erfons attack or a hero, we should probably talk about who he is and exactly what he's in Belmarsh for. Irfan was attacked by 45-year-old Stephen Sansom, who murdered a 38-year-old woman named Sarah Mayew. He and his co-defendant, 49-year-old Gemma Watts, then proceeded to dismember the woman with power tools

Starting point is 00:19:25 and dispose of her body in various locations around southwest London. Some of her remains were recovered in a park in Croydon by a dog walker, while others were recovered from the River Wendell. It's unclear how Miss Mayu was killed, but at autopsy, it was to be able to be able to be a dogwalking. discovered that she had bruising to her skull, two fractures to two vertebrae near her voice box, and had her head shaped. Stephen pled guilty to murder as well as perverting the course of justice. He pled not guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. However, this wasn't even the first time Stephen had killed someone.

Starting point is 00:20:04 On Christmas Eve of 1998, he stabbed taxi driver Terrence Boyle in the throat. Mr. Boyle, who was a father of two children, staggered to a nearby house for help, but died on the doorsteps. Stephen was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison and was released in December of 2019, barely having served his minimum sentence. So although Stephen did what a lot of you would like to do to Urfan, he is still clearly an evil person. But this isn't the only update that's come across our desks. There's actually two more we've learned about just this week. Being in the U.S., it can be difficult to keep up to date with the news going on in the U.K., especially if it's an emerging case or didn't make international headlines.

Starting point is 00:20:49 Again, we have to thank our friend Katie over in the UK for keeping us abreast of the situation as it unfolds across the pond. On January 20th, the BBC posted an article indicating that the Solicitor General decided to appeal Erfon-Sharief Senate. Now, for those unfamiliar with what that is, a Solicitor General oversees all civil and criminal appeals to ensure quality and consistency and becomes personally involved in selected cases. There's more to it, but this is the simplest explanation we can give. The current Solicitor General in the UK is Lucy Rigby, who was appointed by Prime Minister Kier-Starmer. Now, an appeal might make you initially have cause for concern, and that's understandable because

Starting point is 00:21:30 here in the U.S., this normally means the accuses trying to overturn their sentence. That's not what's happening here. See, Rigby actually found that Erfond's sentence of 40 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole to be too lenient for what he did. I think many are in agreement here. I personally would be quite happy if Erfond Sharif never saw the light of day again. She referred the case to the Court of Appeal and, according to a spokesperson for the Attorney General's office, it is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence. Erfond himself is also attempting to appeal a sentence.

Starting point is 00:22:03 appeal a sentence and a court date has yet to be set for either appeal. In other news, an appeal was one to name Sara Sharif's family court judges. This was announced on the BBC on January 24th. The family court judges in question are the ones who gave Erfond Sharif full custody of Sarah in October of 2019. This is the same judge who had overseen the family hearings from 2013 to 2015. The judge in question was fully aware of Erfond's five prior arrests in his history of violence. The court was also aware at the time of multiple romantic partners further alleging that Erfond had falsely imprisoned them in addition to his violent behavior. According to the news source, Mr. Justice Williams ruled in December that the media could not

Starting point is 00:22:47 name the judges involved in the historical family court cases related to the 10-year-old, as well as social workers and guardians due to a real risk of harm from a virtual lynch mob. This might sound strange as judges aren't normally provided anonymity in any of the case. we've covered, but according to the BBC, the judges had concerns given the often inflammatory nature of public and media commentary. However, the BBC and other news outlets weren't satisfied with that, nor should they have been. They managed to appeal that decision in the interest of transparency.

Starting point is 00:23:20 As of the 24th, the Court of Appeals ruled that the unnamed judges must be revealed within seven days. It's been noted that two of the three judges have conveniently retired in this time. to Sir Jeffrey Voss, who is the master of the roles in England and Wales, in the circumstances of this case, the judge had no jurisdiction to anonymize the historic judges either on 9 December 2024 or thereafter. He was wrong to do so. We're going to keep an eye out for updates as they become available. I don't think this is a if they become available situation because look how many updates have come out in just one month. Now here in the States, it's rare for a case in the UK to be so easily

Starting point is 00:24:01 accessible. We've both had people who aren't interested in true crime bring up Sarah's story with us. So with this being such a high profile story, it's very unlikely that it will fade into obscurity like so many murders we've covered. At the very least, we'll know in about a week the names of the judges involved. It will probably post some sort of update when that information is brought to light. We don't normally do update episodes like this, but we made an exception because of the number of requests we receive to make one. So let us know if this is something you'd like to see more of going forward. But until then, we love you and stay safe out there.

Starting point is 00:24:40 Hey, everyone. We don't normally post an update after the fact, but as of today, January 31st, 2025, the judges involved in the Sharif family court proceedings have been named, and they are judges Allison Rayside, Peter Nathan, and Sally Williams. Now, Peter Nathan, and Sally Williams have since retired, but Allison Rayside, who dealt with the majority of the hearings relating to Sara, including allowing both Sarah and her siblings to remain in their parents' care, remains an active judge.

The Misery Machine - Sara Sharif Case Updates

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