The Misery Machine - The Case of Sara Sharif

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is a case we've been watching very closely for the past few weeks waiting for the result of the court trial. There are many people who have asked us for coverage on this, and I'm thankful to say that as of today, the absolute scum responsible have been brought to justice. This story is a prime example that the failures of child protective services aren't just a problem here in America, but a problem that we see in many other areas of the world. I want to give a special shout out to Katie who first brought this case to our attention, but without anything further, this is the heartbreaking story of Sarah Sharif. Sarah Sharif was born on January 11th, 2013 in Slough, County Berkshire, England to parents Irfan Sharif and Olga Dolman.

Starting point is 00:00:44 Sarah had long brown hair, big brown eyes, and a sweet smile. She loves singing, dancing, and playing the guitar. Irfan was of Pakistani origin, but had moved to the UK on a student visa in 2003. to study business management in London. At the time of our story, he worked as a taxi driver. Olga was originally from Poland and spoke very little English. The pair met in Poland and Erfond convinced Olga to come back to the UK with him. The couple married in 2009 and soon gave birth to Sarah's older brother a year later.

Starting point is 00:01:29 As he's a minor, we'll be referring to him as Z throughout our story. Sarah also had another sibling born after Z that will refer to him. as you, although not a lot is known about them. Things didn't remain happy in their Sharif household for long. Erfon and Olga separated in 2015 and quickly divorced. Sarah and you originally resided with their mother, but in 2019, custody was awarded to Irfan. From there, they were whisked away. First, to a tiny two-bedroom council flat in West Byfleet, then to a bigger semi-detached council house on Hammond Street in Horsal. there, Sara and you lived with her new stepmother, 30-year-old Beanish Batul, Irfan's 29-year-old brother Faisal Malik,

Starting point is 00:02:16 and four other children that the media described as belonging to the couple. Erfon had met Beinish after picking her up in his taxi while still married to Olga. Because Olga objected to her children being raised in the Muslim faith, her ex-husband cut off all contact. But in 2023, Sorrow was allegedly bullied at school for wearing a husband. hijab, after which she was pulled out of class and homeschooled by her stepmother. But we all know how that goes. And as we'll find out later in our story, it had nothing to do with bullying. On August 9th, 2023, emergency services received a 9-99 call that was placed from Islamabad, Pakistan. On the call, a man confessed to the dispatchers that I've killed my daughter, and it wasn't my

Starting point is 00:03:04 intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much. He claimed that his actions were intended as punishment, coldly admitting, I'm a cruel father. That man was Erfond Sharif, who had fled England with his wife, brother, and five surviving children. In the early morning hours of August 10th, Sara's body was located at the family's Hammond Road address by the Surrey Police. She had been placed underneath a blanket in her bunk bed. All of the adults in the home were immediately named persons of interest due to not only the 999 call, but a three-page note that was left behind that read as follows. 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 00:03:49 Whoever sees this note, it's me, Erfon Sharif, who killed 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. At her autopsy, five days later on August 15th, Sara presented with numerous severe injuries that the medical examiner noted had been inflicted over time. 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 ribs. She also had injuries that showed evidence that Sarah had been restrained. It would later be revealed that Sarah had a hood placed over her head before being beaten with a metal pole on a cricket bat. There were so many injuries that was impossible to figure out which of them actually caused her death. On September 12, 2023,

Starting point is 00:04:54 police raided a home in Jalem, Punjab, Pakistan, belonging to Erfon's father. There, they were able to locate Irfan's five surviving children who are unharmed and subsequently placed into foster care. On September 13th, all three adults were arrested at London's Gatwick Airport after flying back home by way of Seattle caught in Dubai. It should be noted that there is no official extradition agreement in place between the United Kingdom and Pakistan. On September 14th, Erfon Sharif, Beanish Batul, and Faisal Malik were arrested in charge with the murder, along with an additional charge of causing or allowing the death. at the Bichh.

Starting point is 00:05:30 When Beanish was interviewed by the police, she didn't have a ton of useful things to say. Please, could you introduce yourself? What's your name? So my name is Beanish Patole. And you are about to be interviewed for the offense of murder. What's your understanding of murder?

Starting point is 00:05:45 What's your understanding of that offense? Killing someone. Yeah, okay, so it's intentionally killing somebody, okay, in very simple terms, okay? That's the offense which you've been arrested for, and that's the offense for which we're going to speak to you about, all right? What happened to Sarah?

Starting point is 00:06:01 No comment. What did you see? 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.

Starting point is 00:06:24 So why would you not speak to us now? No comment. Who did that to Sarah? No comment. Do you love Sarah? No comment. Did you care about her at all? No, according to Irfan's father, Mohamed Sharif.

Starting point is 00:06:41 As a stepmother, Benish Batul's behavior was not good with Sarah, and she always used to scold her constantly. Sara had complained to Erfon about Batul's behavior, and she, Batul, denied it and said the children are lying. They all remained in custody ahead of the hearings at both the Guilford Magistrates Court in London's Old Bailey via video conference. In December of 2023,

Starting point is 00:07:05 all three adults pled not guilty to all charges. The jury was sworn in on October 8th, 2024, with the trial beginning shortly thereafter. On October 14th, the prosecution shared with the court the 9-99 call that earth on place after landing in Pakistan, claiming that he legally punished his daughter. We'll play that for you now. Sorry, police, how can I help?

Starting point is 00:07:31 Hello? Hello, how can I help? Oh, God, I couldn't. Can you write on my address please? Hello? Hello. Yes, hello. Is everything okay?

Starting point is 00:07:42 Hello, can you... Nothing is okay. Can you write on my address, please? I don't understand what you're saying. Can you write on my address, please? Okay, what's your postcode? G2. Yep.

Starting point is 00:07:58 Forty-Q. Can I call back. Okay, what's happened? What number? What number? Number six. Okay. Take a deep breath.

Starting point is 00:08:15 Take a deep breath and tell me what's happened. I cannot. I physically punish my daughter and she died. I have left a home with a panic. God, she is allowed. I need you to take a breath because I cannot understand what you're saying, okay? Your daughter. has died.

Starting point is 00:08:34 I killed my daughter. I killed my daughter. Okay. Hello. Hello. Yes, hello. I can't go to number six, the Hammond Road, please. Okay.

Starting point is 00:08:50 Don't worry. Nobody's at home. Hello. Hello. Hello, I'm still here. I'm still here. Can you get someone there? I left to my...

Starting point is 00:09:05 I left my front door keys under the front mat. Okay. My daughter is dead. Who's killed your daughter? It's me. Okay. How? I feel she was naughty.

Starting point is 00:09:25 I'm going to need you to slow down. Okay. How have you killed your daughter? I beat her up. It wasn't my attention. kill her but I'm going to beat her up too much. Okay, where is your daughter now? She's number six.

Starting point is 00:09:46 Okay, where are you? I'm left the property, I'm going to come back. Okay, what's your name? What is your name? My name is Rufan Sri. Can you spell that for me? Is you an umbrella? Mm-hmm.

Starting point is 00:10:03 I'll put Romeo. Yep. I for Freddy, A for Alpha and for November. Sorry, you are... F-A-N. Okay, second name, please. Shreve, F-S-S-S-H for Hotel, A-A-L-A-L-A-R-R-R-Mew, I for Indigo, and F-O-F-E-E-E-F-E-E-E. Brilliant.

Starting point is 00:10:25 Can I get your date of birth? Sorry, my date of birth, it was 35-11-81. Hello. Hello. still here. I'm just writing all of this now. Can you send someone my daughter? Yes. Yes.

Starting point is 00:10:44 Don't worry. Don't worry. Nothing's going to be slowed down, okay? What is your... Okay. Okay. Okay. I need you to slow down, okay. What is your daughter's name?

Starting point is 00:10:57 Sarah S-S-A-R-A-R-. Okay, I need you to slow down. Okay, how do you spell your daughter's name? S-A-R-A. S-A-R-A. R-A. Yeah. Yep.

Starting point is 00:11:10 Oh. And she used her name, F-H-A-R-I-F. Okay, was her date at birth? Oh. It's 11 after January, 2013. She's only 10 years old. Like so. 2000 and what?

Starting point is 00:11:31 13. No. Oh. Okay. Okay, what happened? What led you to, what led to this all happening? I think she was naughty over the last, she four weeks and I was giving up for the stress that she to sort her out. And yes, I did something and she died. Was she breathing when you left?

Starting point is 00:12:02 No, she was that I tried to decitate her, try to give up CPR, everything, but I shared I left. She was she bleeding anywhere? No. Okay. She is bad, I'm telling you. What injuries did she sustain? How long ago was this? How long...

Starting point is 00:12:29 When did this happen? It... I need you to listen to me, okay? When did this happen? About 36 hours ago. This happened 36 hours ago. hours ago. Yes.

Starting point is 00:12:45 I'm a cruel farmer. I'm going to come. Where are you right now? I'm not around. I'm going to come back. So you're still, you're driving right now? I'm driving. Okay.

Starting point is 00:12:59 What is your registration number? I left my... Okay. It's Alcon Lima. Arbor Romeo. Yep. Five seven, Freddie, Mr. Johnny.

Starting point is 00:13:12 What sort of car is it? It's BMW at 5. I left back at Heathrow Car Park. Terminal 3 on the top floor. Sorry, what was that? My car is at Terminal 3 short start. Sorry, what car are you in right now if you're not driving your car? I'm in someone else's car, please. I'll come back.

Starting point is 00:13:45 Could you please send someone there? No, don't worry, we are already deployed. This is not slowing anything, any of this down, okay? Whose car are you in? I'm not someone else's car. Who's car are you in, though? Is someone else, please, I'll come back. Okay, is anyone else at the home with your daughter?

Starting point is 00:14:08 No one's at home. Excuse me. No one is at home. Okay. Do you know the... Yeah, don't worry, we're already sending officers on the way, okay? What, do you know the registration for the car that you're driving? No.

Starting point is 00:14:30 Whose car is it? It's my son's car, I'm not... Could you please go there? I'll get back to you soon. I'll hand over myself. I'll come to walking free station. No, you need to go back to the address now. Okay?

Starting point is 00:14:45 You need to go back to the address. I will. Okay? So where are you? I know you said you're driving, but can you see a road? Where are you right now? I cannot give more detail.

Starting point is 00:15:00 I promise I'll come back. I'll find I'll face a distance. I need to know where you are. Okay? Like, give me a landmark. Give me anything. Where are you? Do you know what town you're in?

Starting point is 00:15:17 I don't know. Okay? So if you live in Woking, are you driving through Guilford? Are you driving through West Byfleet? Are you driving through Aldershot? Where are you driving right now? At the trial, the gloves came off with Beanish's lawyer, Caroline Carberry, claiming that Erfon had a sham marriage with Olga because she was Polish,

Starting point is 00:15:40 and thus a member of the EU. Attorney Carberry inferred that Erfon was targeting Polish women because he was looking for a pathway to European citizenship. In fact, according to Beanish, Erfond had gotten married to a second Polish woman at some point, took her passport, and locked her up. Thankfully, she escaped. On December 11, 2024, both Erfon Sharif and Beanish Batul were found guilty on all counts. Faisal Malik was found not guilty on the charge of murder,

Starting point is 00:16:12 but was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child. On December 17th, they were back in court for sentencing. There, Sarah's mother Olga shared the following victim impact statement with the court. Sara was always smiling. She had her own unique character. The only thing I had left to give my daughter was to give her a beautiful Catholic funeral that she deserves. She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven. She is no longer experiencing violence.

Starting point is 00:16:42 To this day, I can't understand how. someone can be such a sadist to a child. Addressing her ex-husband and his new wife, she said, You are sadist, although even this word is not enough for you. I would say you are executioners. Justice Kavanaugh condemned the pair for not showing a shred of remorse and describe Sarah's treatment as nothing short of torture. The full video is over 49 minutes long and is available to view in our show notes.

Starting point is 00:17:14 We'll play a portion for you now. The marks were consistent with restraints being used, in other words, with Sarah being tied up. Many of these injuries had tram line markings which showed that she had been beaten with an elongated object. You, Irf and Sharif have admitted to beating Sarah

Starting point is 00:17:34 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 would only admit to doing so once.

Starting point is 00:17:57 I have no doubt that in fact this was a regular occurrence. In addition to the 71 fresh injuries, the medical experts found a total of 25 separate fractures to the bones in Sarah's body. These included a fractured collar bone, two fractured shoulder blades, fractured ribs, a fractured humourous, 11 separate fractures to her spinal column and fractures to bones in both of her hands. This is not a case of a single episode of maltreatment, therefore. This poor child was battered with great force again and again. Some of the injuries require special mention because they demonstrate the almost unbelievable torture to which Sarah was subjected in the last weeks of her life.

Starting point is 00:18:46 The medical experts identified a fracture in the hyoid bone in Sarah's neck. This is a very unusual injury and was the result of very vigorous and energetic manual strangulation, quite possibly on more than one different occasion. Sarah sustained a serious brain injury a few days before she died as the result of a blow to her head. In addition, when she died, Sarah had opened burn wounds on the bones of the inside of her. of each ankle. The only possible explanation for this, as is made clear by the medical evidence, is that Sarah's ankles were tied and then either her feet were wrapped around a hot pipe or, more likely, boiling water was poured on her ankles. Once again, the wounds had not been

Starting point is 00:19:37 treated and no medical help had been sought for Sarah. The post-mortem investigation showed that Sarah had six spike marks on her body. Five of them were on her left arm and one was on the inside of her left thigh. 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. You Ben Ashbuttal declined to give a tooth impression and the only possible inference is that it was you who made these bite marks. Though the marks were not in themselves fatal injuries, the fact that you were prepared to assault Sarah in this way provides an insight into the extent to which you were complicit in and

Starting point is 00:20:27 comfortable with the abuse that Sarah was suffering. But the medical and forensic evidence does not stop there. It is absolutely clear that in the last few weeks of her life, Sarah was tied up. She was trussed up with masking tape and with skipping rope. Even worse, she was hooded. Plastic bags were put over her head, which were then held in place with masking tape, and a hole was ripped in the plastic bag through which she could breathe.

Starting point is 00:20:58 This treatment of a 10-year-old child is nothing short of gruesome. It is hard to imagine how terrifying it must have been for Sarah, especially as the treatment was at the hands of her own parents. In the end, Justice Kavanaugh sentenced Erfon Sharif to a minimum term of 40 years in prison, being a bettul to 33 years in prison, and Faisal Malik to 16 years.

Starting point is 00:21:22 Libby Clark from the Crown Prosecution Service shared the following words after the sentencing. Sara Sharif was a lively and joyful 10-year-old girl whose life was tragically cut short by the very people who should have protected and cared for her. The evidence in this case painted a devastating picture of the suffering Sarah experience leading up to her death, and the campaign of a she was being subjected to in her own family home. Her injuries revealed the extent of the cruelty inflicted upon her, while the defendant's actions after her death demonstrated a shocking disregard for her life as they attempted to flee the country to evade justice, thinking only of themselves. Whilst her father and stepmother were responsible for subjecting Sarah to horrific abuse, her uncle took no action to stop or report it.

Starting point is 00:22:06 This has been an incredibly complex and distressing case, and it is thanks to the tireless work of the prosecution team, Surrey Police, international partners, and the CPS International Unit, that we were able to secure justice for Sara. I also want to thank the jury for their careful consideration of the harrowing evidence presented in court. Today's sentences reflect the cruelty and gravity of their crimes, and while no sentence can bring Sarah back, we hope this outcome is able to provide some small comfort to all those that knew and loved her. But long before Sarah's tragic death, there were clues to Erfond's violent past that

Starting point is 00:22:40 could potentially save Sarah's life if the complaints were taken seriously. In fact, before Sarah was even if it was even if it was even if. even born, the police and social services were already a part of the family's lives. Records indicate that between 2010 and 2012, there were already four calls to the couple's home for reports of family violence. In 2010, Surrey County Council Children's Services became involved due to reports of violence and neglect directed at Sarah's older brother Z. That same year, Z was found abandoned in a shop. Also that same year, Erfond was arrested for assaulting both Olga and Z. Yet the little boy so hard that he left a handprint on his.

Starting point is 00:23:16 his back. In 2011, reports alleged that Zee told his teachers that his father hit him. Following year, he claimed that it was his mother. He was found with burn marks on his body, and once again, he was abandoned out on his own. This time, he was located at Wokingtown Center, wandering around a half a mile from his home. Social workers noted additional injuries on Z's body as well as on U's body who had been born by this time. Also noted that the children's bedrooms lacked light bulbs and bedding. In 2013, Z suffered a very familiar burn. burned by a hot clothes iron, much like Sara would be years later. And Sarah was born that same year, she was immediately placed under a care order.

Starting point is 00:23:53 This gave the police and social services legal responsibility for the three children in the Sharif home. In November of 2014, Sarah and her siblings were briefly placed in the foster care after her brother Z claimed to have been bitten by his mother and pinched and punched by his father. Although Olga and Erfond claimed there were chickenpox scars, the foster parents noticed cigarette burns both Sarah and you. In 2015, both Irfan and Olga were in court for a custody hearing. Olga accused Erfond of beating her and the kids and claimed that he was violent and controlling.

Starting point is 00:24:24 Although it was never mandated, Erfon agreed to take part in family violence courses and counseling. It should be noted that prior to Erfon, even meeting Olga, he was accused of intimate partner violence and false imprisonment by two separate ex-girlfriends, one in 2007 and one in 2009. It is unclear if either of these partners were the imprisoned Polish women we may. mentioned previously, but it is alleged that one of these ex-girlfriends was a minor. In total, Erfon had been arrested on at least five separate occasions for his behavior. At the same year, Sara and Yu returned home to the family, and Z remained in foster care. According to the BBC, Z never went back home with Erfon and Olga. Sara was in foster care once more in 2015 after Olga left Erfon, alleging that there was family violence. It was around this time that the couple

Starting point is 00:25:12 separated for good, and Sara began living with her mother full-time. Due to his history, Erfan was only allowed supervised visits. Everything seemed to calm down for the family up until Easter of 2019. It was then that Sara confessed to Erfan that her mother had been hurting her. She told her father that Olga had tried to burn her with a lighter, had slapped her, pinched her, pulled her hair, and tried to drown her. Erfond videotaped this confession and submitted it to social services. It is unclear if this confession was coached. In October of 2019, custody of both Sara and you were awarded to Erfon and his new wife, Beenish, despite his five arrests and previous police and social services involvement.

Starting point is 00:25:53 Should be noted that the judge that awarded custody to Erfon was the same judge that had taken part in all of the Sharif family hearings from 2013 to 2015, and was well aware of the type of man that Erfon was. By January of 2023, Sara began wearing a hijabh. to school to try to hide her bruises, but it didn't work. By March, mandated reporters were making calls to social services, but sadly, the case was dropped in a matter of mere days. The following month, Beanish pulled Sarah out of school, and the violence only intensified in the last weeks of her life. She was forced to take care of all of the younger children and treated as a maid in her own home. Sara was singled out for being a girl, Olga's girl. She was smart, sassy, feisty, and

Starting point is 00:26:47 spirited. She wasn't submissive like Irfan wanted her to be, and she stood up to him. Sara was referred 15 times to social services in the course of her lifetime, but sadly, it wasn't enough to save her life. Sarah was a brave, feisty, and spirited child. She was not submissive as you wanted her to be. She stood up to you. You considered that her behaviour entitled you to chastise her physically. And I have no doubt that your ego and sense of self-importance were boosted by the power that you wielded over her and the rest of the family.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Sara Sharif

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