Sara Sharif suffered at least 71 injuries shortly before she was murdered, a court heard.
The 10-year-old schoolgirl's “constellation” of injuries included scrapes, burns, puncture wounds and bruises, some of which were the result of “repetitive blunt force trauma” and “blunt impact or solid pressure, or both.”
Sara's father, Urfan Sharif, 42, her stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and her paternal uncle, Faisal Malik, 28, are on trial at the Outdated Bailey accused of carrying out a violent “campaign of abuse” before she was found dead in a bunk bed at the family home in Surrey on August 10, 2023.
The defendants allegedly killed Sara on August 8 before fleeing to Pakistan, from where Sharif called police to say he had “beat her too much.” The taxi driver also left a handwritten “confession” near her fully clothed body, saying: “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”
Giving evidence on Wednesday, consultant forensic pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary said the cause of Sara's death was “complications arising from multiple injuries and negligence” and described it as “unnatural”.
He presented the results of a put up mortem examination of his body performed on August 15, 2023, which showed that he had several old scars and more than 71 recent injuries.
The court heard that Sara had suffered internal damage, including a traumatic brain injury, multiple bruises to her lungs and stomach and multiple skeletal injuries.
Cary said Sara, who was 1.37 meters (4ft 5ins) tall and weighed 27kg (4ft 5ins), had “multiple marks all over her body” with wounds to her face, head, fingers , ankles and back.
Detailing his injuries, he said he had suffered a “cut or semi-cut” puncture wound to his forehead that had been left “open”.
He also described a necklace of “intense” purple-red bruises around his neck, upper chest and shoulders, which measured 27cm wide and 13cm long. He described the bruising as “everywhere” and added: “It is the result of blunt impact or solid pressure, or both.”
The court heard that a cluster of green and blue bruises on the stomach had characteristics that suggested they could have been caused by “being hit with an elongated object”.
Sara also had areas of ulceration that Cary believed were due to burns.
On Sara's legs, there were more bruises, scratches and multiple linear red marks, which the pathologist said could be due to “repetitive blunt force trauma.” He said the purple-red bruises on her right thigh were likely caused by “multiple impacts with a linear object.”
The prosecutor, William Emlyn Jones KC, asked about two deep linear scratches on his arm, which Cary said could have been caused by a “scraping” semi-sharp object and potentially “an object used as a weapon or possibly restraints”.
A deep area of skin was also missing from the ring finger of Sara's left hand. “It's probably some type of cutting injury, something has taken a big chunk of his finger off, you can see how well cut the edges are,” Cary said.
The court hearing the case will also rely on evidence from specialists in burns, radiology and neuropathology.
Cary was asked about a report from a neuropathologist who examined Sara's brain and found “features of traumatic injury of a few days duration” before her death.
The court heard that no physical illness or drugs had contributed to his death.
Recording his findings, Cary said: “There is evidence of widespread lesions on the surface of the skin… These findings are consistent with significant, repetitive blunt force trauma.”
He said there was also evidence of a “significant head injury” and that he did not exclude the possibility that Sara's burns contributed to her death from sepsis.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to murder and causing or permitting the death of a child between December 16, 2022 and August 9, 2023.
The trial before Judge Cavanagh is expected to last until December 13.
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