A UK court this week heard harrowing details of how a 10-year-old Pakistani girl was beaten, abused and made to do sit-ups all night by her father for "hiding his keys". Urfan Sharif beat his minor daughter Sara Sharif – whose death last year sparked an international manhunt – so severely, that his wife Beinash Batool thought he might "break her arms and legs".
The details emerged as the court read a series of WhatsApp messages between Batool and her sister Qandeela Saboohi between 2019 and 2023, The Guardian reports. In the messages, Batool described Sharif as a "psycho" who "beat the crap out of Sara".
In one of the messages, she revealed that he had told her to cover up Sara's bruises with makeup and sunglasses after her school teachers expressed concern.
Sharif, 42, his wife Batool, 30, and his brother Faisal Malik, 29, are on trial, for allegedly subjecting Sara to a prolonged "campaign of abuse". Prosecutors allege the abuse led to Sara's death on August 8, 2023.
Following her death, Sharif reportedly fled to Pakistan, leaving behind a handwritten note saying, "I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it."
He also reportedly informed police over the phone that he had "beat her up too much".
The court was shown photographs of the bruises on Sara's body, and recovered messages from Batool, in which she wrote, "This is how bad he is beating her … I feel really sorry for her, he beats the crap out of her."
In other messages, Batool mentioned Sharif going "ballistic" and locking Batool out of the room while beating Sara. "He's literally (going) to break her arm or leg," she wrote.
"If something happens to Sara I will not be able to forgive myself," Batool wrote in another message in February 2022. In yet some other messages, Batool revealed how Sara was beaten for being "rude and rebellious."
In November 2022, Batool told her sister that she had separated from Sharif after a particularly violent day, when he took money and a passport before planning to go to Pakistan.
Months before Sara's death, in May 2023, Batool messaged that Sara's oxygen levels were dangerously low and that she struggled to stay awake due to the physical toll of the abuse. The day before Sara died, Batool's sister tried to contact her, but Batool replied that she was "not in the mood to speak."
Sharif, Batool, and Malik all deny the charges of murder. The trial remains ongoing.