THE dad of Sara Sharif tearfully denied murdering her — and said his wife was “the villain”.
Urfan Sharif, 42, admitted slapping the ten-year-old for discipline but insisted he never beat her up.
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Jurors were yesterday told he came home to find Sara “limp” with her stepmum Beinash Batool, 30.
The Old Bailey heard he did CPR and begged for an ambulance only to be told: “Leave it, she’s dead.”
His defence barrister Naeem Mian said Batool, not Sharif, was “the true villain in the piece”.
Asked if he ever beat Sara, who jurors heard had 71 injuries after being tortured, Sharif said: “I did slap her. I never beat her. I have a lot of flaws but beating, never.”
The taxi driver said his wife was the “boss” who regularly beat him up, once when he gave money to his ex-wife, and another when she said he was “flirting” with a neighbour.
Another assault saw him lose consciousness and required a trip to hospital, he claimed.
He said she told him other kids were causing Sara’s bruises, and broke down as he called his girl a “beautiful angel”.
Sara was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023 after Sharif, Batool and Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, fled to Pakistan.
All three deny murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The trial continues.
