[7][11] A former partner of Urfan Sharif, Angelika, said that he accused her of having an abortion after she suffered a miscarriage, threatened her with a knife, tried to brand her with his initials, and held her captive in his home.

Olga allegedly told social services that Urfan tightened a belt around her neck and that he locked her in a room and took her phone.

[22] A neighbour of the Sharifs, Rebecca Spencer, reported that she heard "constant crying"[23] and "screaming",[23] which had at one point reached "fever pitch"[23] coming from their address.

[23] Another neighbour of the Sharifs, Fiona Mellon, said that she heard a young girl scream "in pain"[24] two days before Sara died.

[24] Sara's body was discovered at her residence on Hammond Road, Horsell, during the early hours of 10 August 2023 by police constable George Van der Wart.

[19] Urfan left a note addressed to Sara near her body, apologizing for her death and asking the reader to bury her in accordance with Islamic funeral traditions.

[25] Surrey Police identified Urfan Sharif, his wife Beinash Batool, and his brother Faisal Malik as persons of interest.

[26][3] On 8 August, Urfan messaged travel agent Nadeem Riaz, asking for eight one-way aeroplane tickets to Islamabad, Pakistan.

[35] Anthony Freemont, a osteoarticular pathologist giving evidence to the court, said that she had hyoid bone[37] and wrist fractures, both of which were determined to be non-accidental.

[38] Niall Martin, a burns and plastic surgeon providing evidence to the court, said that Sara was burnt on the buttocks by a "domestic iron",[24] which would have caused "significant physical and psychological discomfort"[24] to her.

[24] Tim De Meyer, chief constable of the Surrey Police, said that Sara's death was "a crime of the most unimaginable and unspeakable evil"[39] and that the case was "about as bad as [he has] ever seen".

[39] Mark Chapman, detective chief superintendent of the Surrey Police, said that he had never seen "such horrific suffering of a young person"[6] before in his entire 30-year-long career.

[40] On 12 September 2023, police raided the house of Urfan Sharif's father in Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan and recovered the five children in good condition, after which they were put in care.

[6] On 17 December 2024, Sharif was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years, while Batool was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years, with the judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, describing their crimes as "a campaign of torture"[52] in which "the degree of cruelty is almost inconceivable".

[52] On 1 January 2025, Urfan Sharif was ambushed in his cell by two inmates while serving his sentence at HM Prison Belmarsh, who then attacked him by slitting his throat with a tuna can lid.

[55] While incarcerated at HM Prison Bronzefield, Beinash Batool was reported to have become good friends with Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse convicted of murdering seven infants, with them playing cards together and talking to each other frequently.

[58] Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, overturned the previous judgement after an appeal by media organizations, calling it "misguided".

[59] The judges overseeing the family court trial were named as Alison Raeside, Peter Nathan, and Sally Williams,[59] none of whom requested anonymity.