Sara Sharif: What happened to little girl found dead in Woking - timeline

Yahoo News UK examines what is known about the Sara Sharif investigation so far.

Surrey police released new images of Sara Sharif. (Surrey Police)
Surrey police released new images of Sara Sharif. (Surrey Police)

Police have issued new images of 10-year-old Sara Sharif in order to “build a picture of her life” before she was found dead.

The girl’s father Urfan Sharif, stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle Faisal Malik are accused of the youngster’s murder after her body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August.

Surrey Police have circulated two new images of Sara which present her "in the way we believe she may have dressed in the months prior to her death."

Sara Sharif Woking murder latest
Sara Sharif, 10, was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey. (PA)

The force said it hoped the images would "prompt more people to come forward with information about her and her family."

A previous hearing was told that Sara's body was found under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in Woking.

The day before, the three defendants left the UK for Pakistan with five children. The three were arrested last week upon their return at Gatwick Airport.

Yahoo News UK looks at what has happened following Sara's death...

Urfan SHarif (left) and Beinash Batool. (Surrey Police/PA)
Urfan Sharif, left, and his partner Beinash Batool, right, have been charged with the murder of Sara Sharif, 10. (Surrey Police/PA)

9 August

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfan Sharif’s brother, Faisal Malik, 28, travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, with five children aged between one and 13 years old.

10 August

Sara’s body is found at a house in Horsell, Woking, after police were called from Pakistan by her father, Urfan Sharif, at around 2.50am. A murder investigation is launched.

11 August

Surrey Police identify three people they want to speak with in connection with Sara’s death and confirm they believe they left the country on 9 August.

HOUSE NUMBER PIXELATED BY PA PICTURE DESK 
Police officers stand outside a property on Hammond Road in Woking, Surrey, after a 10-year-old girl was found dead. Officers were called to the address at around 2.50am on Thursday following a concern for safety. The girl's family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. Detectives have started a murder investigation. Picture date: Thursday August 10, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Woking. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
Police were called to a house on Hammond Road in Woking, Surrey, where 10-year-old Sara Sharif was found dead. (PA)

14 August

Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, pays tribute to her daughter in a newspaper interview, saying she "can't believe she's dead" after her daughter is named by a local paper.

Sharif says she wants to bury her daughter in her native Poland, telling The Sun: "There is nothing I can do that can bring her back to life, so I have to only remember the good times with her now. Life is really hard. It's just not fair."

Watch: Sara Sharif's father is charged with 10-year-old's murder

18 August

Surrey Police make an appeal to locate her father Urfan, his partner Batool and Urfan’s brother, Malik.

Police say the post-mortem examination did not establish the cause of Sara’s death but it revealed she had suffered multiple and extensive injuries - likely to have been caused over a sustained period of time.

19 August

The Associated Press news agency reports that Pakistani police in the eastern province of Punjab are seeking to arrest Sharif in connection with Sara’s death, with his family home believed to be in the city of Jhelum.

Officer Imran Ahmed said police found evidence that he had briefly returned to Jhelum, before leaving and disappearing.

People lay flowers outside a property on Hammond Road in Woking, Surrey, where a 10-year-old girl was found dead after officers were called to the address on Thursday following a concern for safety. Picture date: Friday August 11, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)
People leave flowers in tribute to Sara Sharif on Hammond Road in Horsell, near Woking, Surrey. (Getty)

20 August

Surrey County Council confirms to the PA news agency Sara was known to the local authority. The search for her father continues.

24 August

Rawalpindi Region police chief Khurram Ali says the force is trying its “level best” to find Sharif, Batool and Malik - and is “close to locating them”.

Ali says the force has questioned the father, brother and uncle of Sharif.

29 August

An inquest is opened into Sara’s death at Surrey Coroner’s Court. Coroner Simon Wickens confirms Sara was born in Slough, Berkshire, on 11 January 2013.

He adjourns inquest proceedings until 29 February next year to give police time to investigate.

Police say they have identified people they want to speak to. (SWNS)
Surrey Police officers outside the property in Woking where Sara Sharif was found dead. (SWNS)

6 September

Sara’s father, Urfan, and his partner, Beinash Batool, speak for the first time about her death via a video statement.

In a clip posted by Sky News, Batool, 29, shows no emotion as she describes Sara’s death as “an incident” and says that she and Sharif, are willing to co-operate with UK authorities.

9 September

Relatives of Sara are detained for questioning by police in Pakistan. A police spokesman in Jehlum, 108 miles north-west of Lahore, says Sharif and his wife Batool were in hiding and 10 close relatives have been taken into custody for questioning and an investigation.

Among those detained include Mohammad Sharif, the father of Urfan, his brothers and cousins, the spokesman said.

A view of HM Coroner's Court Surrey in Woking, ahead of the inquest into the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif who was found dead at a property on Hammond Road in Woking, Surrey, on August 10. Picture date: Monday August 28, 2023.
An inquest was opened into the death of Sara Sharif at Surrey Coroner's Court. (PA)

11 September

Five of Sara's siblings are reportedly taken by police from the home of Sara's grandfather in Pakistan.

Muhammad Sharif tells the BBC he had been hiding the children in his home in the city of Jhelum, but did not specify for how long.

12 September

A court rules that the five children will be sent temporarily to a government childcare facility in Pakistan.

In the UK, Surrey Police say they are working to secure the safe return of the siblings.

13 September

Urfan Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool and brother Faisal Malik are arrested at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of murder after returning from Pakistan via Dubai.

15 September: Father, stepmother and uncle charged with murder and appear in court

Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik are charged with Sara Sharif's murder.

They are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child.

19 September

Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik appeared at the Old Bailey via video link and are told they will face a trial in September 2024.

They spoke only to confirm their identities and dates of birth, and were all remanded into custody until their next hearing.

A plea hearing was set for 1 December and a six-week trial scheduled for the Old Bailey from 2 September 2024.

22 September

Police release new images of Sara in the hopes of prompting more people to come forward to provide information about her life.

Sara is pictured wearing a black hijab in a school photo in one of the images, while the other displays the youngster in a blue hijab.

A previous picture issued by the force showed the child without the traditional Muslim head covering.

Watch: Sara Sharif's mum lays flowers at Woking home