Sara Sharif wore hijab to hide injuries, court told

A 10-year-old miss who allegedly died astatine the hands of her father, stepmother and uncle wore a hijab to fell facial injuries she received successful the pb up to her death, a tribunal has heard.

Sara Sharif began wearing the spiritual headscarf successful January 2023 - 8 months earlier her assemblage was recovered astatine her family's location successful Woking, Surrey, jurors were told.

A neighbour recovered it “unusual” that Sara was the lone subordinate of her ample extended household that lived astatine the code to beryllium dressed successful a hijab, the Old Bailey heard.

Her begetter Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, person denied murder.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC said the hijab was “indicative of the request to conceal injuries to her look and caput from the extracurricular world”.

Mr Emlyn Jones KC besides gave accounts from neighbours who lived adjacent the Sharif's, including 1 from a antheral who lived adjacent the family's erstwhile code successful West Byfleet.

The antheral said helium heard “shockingly loud” sounds of smacking and “gut wrenching screams” of young pistillate children.

Another erstwhile neighbour said they heard banging and rattling sounds, often accompanied by the sounds of a kid crying oregon screaming, the tribunal heard.

She said it was arsenic if idiosyncratic was banging connected a doorway arsenic if trying to unfastened the doorway oregon alert idiosyncratic that they were down a door, Mr Emlyn Jones KC added.

The tribunal antecedently heard Mr Sharif, Ms Batool and Mr Malik travelled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara's 5 brothers and sisters connected 9 August 2023, the time earlier her assemblage was found.

Prosecutors said Mr Sharif called constabulary from Pakistan and admitted helium killed Sara astir an hr aft his family’s formation had landed successful Islamabad.

Jurors were told Mr Sharif's lawsuit was that Ms Batool was liable for Sara's death, and helium made a mendacious confession connected the telephone telephone and besides successful a enactment to support his wife.

Sara had suffered 11 fractures to her spine, burns to her buttocks, caused by a home iron, six “probable quality wound marks” and signs of a traumatic encephalon injury, the tribunal besides heard.

The 3 defendants, who lived with Sara earlier her death, are besides charged with causing oregon allowing the decease of a child, which they deny.