A safeguarding review has revealed that council staff visited the wrong address the day before 10-year-old Sara Sharif was murdered by her father and stepmother in August 2023. The review, commissioned after her death, found that Surrey children’s services failed to identify that Sara was at risk of abuse, did not question unexplained bruising, and missed multiple opportunities to intervene.
Sara was killed by her father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, after years of escalating brutality that left her with bruises, burns, human bite marks and at least 25 fractures. She was found dead in a bunk bed at the family home after her father fled to Pakistan, leaving a handwritten note saying he had “lost it”. Sharif and Batool were later jailed for life, with minimum terms of 40 and 33 years respectively.
The review criticised the “over-reliance” on Sara’s views and the failure to “think the unthinkable”. It noted that the seriousness of her father as a serial perpetrator of domestic abuse was overlooked by almost all professionals involved. The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, described the case as “an appalling tragedy that could – and should – have been avoided”, highlighting “glaring failures and missed opportunities across all agencies”.
The review also pointed out that Sara was withdrawn from school in 2023 and “disappeared from view” until her body was discovered. It criticised legislation that required no formal discussion about homeschooling, despite her previous contact with social services. Additionally, the review noted that Sara’s biological mother, Olga Domin, lacked access to an interpreter during legal proceedings, which contributed to Sara being placed in her father’s care.
