Pakistani father, stepmother of 10-year-old found dead in UK deny murder charges

This combination of pictures created on September 13, 2023 shows undated handout photos released by Surrey Police in London on September 6, 2023, of Urfan Sharif (L), Beinash Batool, and Faisal Malik. Urfan Sharif, the British-Pakistani father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was found dead at her home in England last month. (Photo courtesy: SURREY POLICE via AFP)

• Sara Sharif, 10, was found dead at her home in southern England on Aug. 10
• Sara’s father, his partner and his brother are charged with murdering her

LONDON: The father, stepmother and uncle of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her UK home pleaded not guilty on Thursday to murder charges.
Sara Sharif’s body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in southern England on Aug. 10. Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41; his partner Beinash Batool, 29; and his brother, 28-year-old Faisal Malik, are charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The three suspects, who are remanded in a prison, appeared by video link on Thursday at London’s Central Criminal Court to deny the charges ahead of a trial scheduled for September 2024.
The trio had left the UK for Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, a day before police discovered the girl’s body in Woking, 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of London.
Police in Pakistan found the three defendants after an extensive search and put them on a flight to the UK on Sept. 13. They were arrested upon arriving at London’s Gatwick Airport.
Prosecutors have said that the 10-year-old girl was found with extensive injuries and healed fractures that indicated “multiple events of violence.”
They also said that police found the body after receiving a call from Pakistan.