THE father of a 10-year-old Woking girl whose death sparked an international manhunt pleaded not guilty to her murder in a UK court on Thursday (14), as did two other members of her family.
Sara Sharif's body was discovered at her family home on August 10.
A post-mortem examination found the British Pakistani girl had sustained "multiple and extensive injuries" over a long period.
Her father 41-year-old Urfan Sharif, her step-mother Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother Faisal Malik, 28, deny killing the girl.
They entered their pleas via video link to London's Old Bailey court.
Sara's body was found after an emergency call alerting officers was made from Pakistan by a man identifying himself as the father, according to detectives.
The house was otherwise empty, and the manhunt continued with Interpol and Britain's foreign ministry coordinating with authorities in Pakistan.
The day before Sara's body was found, the three defendants had left the UK for Pakistan with Sharif's five other children.
They were arrested in September after disembarking from a flight from Dubai.
The trial is expected to start in September 2024, and to last six weeks.
Sara Sharif’s family members plead not guilty to her murder
Sara Sharif. (Photo: Surrey Police)
FILE PHOTO: Floral tributes are laid following a vigil for the victims of the knife attack in Southport, Britain July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja
