Sara Sharif's father, stepmother and uncle appear in court accused of murder of ten-year-old as trial date set
6 September 2024, 17:20 | Updated: 6 September 2024, 17:35
The father, stepmother and uncle of Sara Sharif have appeared in court in connection with her murder - and a trial date has been set.
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The 10-year-old girl was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey, in August last year.
Urfan Sharif, 42, Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfan's brother, Faisal Malik, 28, who are accused of killing her, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
The trio are set to go on trial on 7 October which is expected to last seven weeks.
The three defendants, who lived with Sara before her death, are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, which they deny.
Sara Shariff: Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool say they are willing to cooperate with UK authorities
The trio travelled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara's five brothers and sisters on on August 9 - the day before her body was found.
A previous court hearing was told Sara's body was found after Surrey Police received a call from Pakistan on 10 August.
The three adults were arrested on their return to the UK on September 13 and were charged two days later.
Read more: Deaths of three children found dead alongside father inside house in Surrey being treated as murder
A post-mortem found Sara suffered "multiple and extensive injuries" which were probably "caused over a sustained and extended period of time".
While a cause of death could not be given, her death was likely "unnatural".
